Shapeshifter
by MediEvil Ways
Summary: A young girl of otherworldly beauty comes to Merlin's door. She can't speak. Where does she come from? Who is she? NO OC! Man, I suck at summaries - please, just R&R.
1. Prologue: The Girl

**Summary**: A young girl of otherworldly beauty comes to Merlin's door. She can't speak. Where does she come from? Who is she? NO OC!

**A/N** – Okay, I suck at summaries (sorry). But if you read this short prologue, you'll understand more. It's a story that has roamed round in my head for a while and I don't know if anyone would be interested in it. Please, tell me if I should continue.

**Disclaimers**: All of it BBCs

**SHAPESHIFTER**

PROLOGUE

**The girl**

She was tall, lithe, incredibly lean and agile. She walked with the lightness of a fairy and her long, straight hair that reached her waist was almost colourless, very nearly the same colour as her incredibly fair skin and her white eyelashes that cast a very light grey shadow over her cheeks. She walked with her head bowed, but occasionally looked up to find her footing with a set of water blue, almost transparent eyes that seemed to gaze right through everything in a more literal than metaphysical way. Her face, mostly covered by her hair, was heart-shaped with a long pointy chin and her nose long and a little aquiline.

One would see this ghostly form in the dead of night, apparently not cold and seemingly seeing everything in the dark and …

… she was starkers!

The fact that she was wearing no clothes at all didn't seem to bother her at all. As daybreak came, she would still be walking, headed in the same direction. She would pass travellers on her chosen road, and these would stare at her, eyes wide open, but she would ignore them blatantly. It was not until two ruffians stopped in front of her, gawking and drooling unashamedly, that she reacted. She raised her head and fixed them with her amazing eyes. She noticed that they were big, dirty and that she could not see much their skin that appeared to be covered by something. They were talking.

"Wooo-hooo, there's a little lady. What's up, pumpkin? Did someone steal your clothes?" one of them said, smiling and revealing a set of very unhealthy teeth. She mimicked his actions and bared her blindingly white teeth.

"Wow!" the other one said, "methinks you're growling at us! We should teach you some manners!"

And they both grabbed the thin girl and hauled her through the bushes and threw her onto the forest floor, one of them already shedding his shirt and trousers, his face red with arousal.

The young girl opened her mouth, but she didn't speak. A flame the size of a bonfire flared out of her mouth and right over the man's midsection. Now, he no longer spoke. He screamed. The other one, too close for his own good, caught fire as well and ran away, screaming, while the other dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. The young girl got up and looked at the shirt and pants that the first ruffian had already taken off and discarded. It had not caught the fire. She stooped and grabbed both garments, frowning as she tried to remember how the man had worn it. Then she awkwardly stuck both her legs in the trousers at the same time and toppled over with a little squeal. Rolling about, she eventually figured it out and then proceeded to don the shirt a little more gracefully.

Then she walked away, leaving the human torches behind without a second thought.

Camelot was busy that day; merchants, travellers and messengers were buzzing in and out of streets, shops and doors, making a day's worth of earnings and work. None of them really saw the odd little girl, dressed in a man's clothing, eel her way through the crowd. Once in a while, she would stop and close her eyes, wrinkling her nose, almost as if she was sniffing something out like a hunting dog. Then she would alter her direction and steadily and carefully make her way over the cobblestones in her bare feet that had become quite red from her walk. At some point she reached the castle where guards halted her and when she could not answer their questions, dismissed her, sending her away. Without raising a fuss, she then turned another corner where she stopped, squinting as if to make sure that she was alone and then closing her eyes in deep concentration. And then she disappeared.

Within the castle walls, right in front of the Court Physician's door, she reappeared and quickly reached out of hand to let it rest on the door surface. She didn't have to wait for long. The door was opened, and a young man's long face and gentle smile appeared.

"Come in," he said, beckoning her to enter, "I felt your presence. I have been expecting you ...

… Aithusa."

xxx

Right. Wanna see where this is going? Then tell me if it's worth continuing. :-)


	2. Clueless

**Disclaimers**: All BBCs

**A/N**: Thank you, thank you, all reviewers! You are the BEST! I have done my best to live up to your expectations, so please tell me if this chapters doesn't meet with them. :) Constructive criticism is always welcome. I'm a big girl, so I can take it.

One thing: In this story, apart from the egg surviving, Gaius doesn't know about Kilgharrah and Aithusa for the simple reason that we haven't seen Merlin taking him into his confidence on this particular issue.

CHAPTER 1

**Clueless**

A week earlier

It was usually during night time that he heard from the great dragon and this time was no exception. Waking abruptly from a dreamless sleep by the distinct feeling of an ancient call in the very core of his soul, he knew exactly whose voice to expect in his mind shortly and was not disappointed.

_MERLIN_

_Kilgharrah_, his mind thought back, without hesitating, like second nature.

_MERLIN – COME, QUICK_

The warlock gasped; the pain was so tangible that it felt like an iron fist had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart to the last drop of blood. Undiluted fear and grief gripped his being and left an imprint of trauma. Something was terribly wrong! So wrong that he stumbled out of bed, panting and gasping for breath. He would have to go to Kilgharrah. Now!

Not wasting any time on changing clothes, but simply grabbing a cape to protect him from the chill of the night, Merlin stood rigid and concentrated hard. It was a technique he had perfected within the last six months, yet rarely used as the performance would increase the risk of being discovered as a sorcerer in Camelot. With King Arthur's newly fuelled hatred towards magic, this was a very real threat. However, this was Kilgharrah, and he was a dragonlord. He had obligations and responsibilities that he did not intend to ignore. He would have to chance it.

Merlin's shape dissolved into the night.

… and reappeared in the dragon's lair. The second that Merlin could focus with his eyes, he knew that his old friend was dying. "No," he breathed, his heart skipping a beat, and lunged forward.

Kilgharrah's cave was situated high above ground in the mountains. The air was thin and cold and the stars were blinking their cold indifference and together with the moon just barely providing illumination enough for Merlin to see the entrance of the cave. Merlin entered the lair and stooped by the huge face that lay quivering with weakness in the deepest end of the cave where no light penetrated the thick stone wall. He whispered into his palm and produced a small flame, just enough for him to look into his old friend's eyes. He put his hand on the scaly, golden surface of the creature's jaw.

"Kilgharrah," he whispered in dragon tongue. "What has happened to you, old friend?"

The great dragon's breath was laboured and Merlin sensed that talking was draining his energy, which made him project the question.

_I am dying, _Kilgharrah projected back to him, his great amber eyes barely open.

_How? Why?_

_It would seem, from an illness._

_Why didn't you call me?_

_It went so fast, young warlock. There was no time. I sent Aithusa away so that she should not catch whatever I had got._

The dragon's breathing was getting increasingly uneven. Desperate to save his friend, Merlin reached out both his hands, mumbled a healing spell and flashed his eyes.

_You cannot heal me, Merlin. Or I would have healed myself. It is how it must be. It is my time._

_No, _Merlin cried, his eye wide with shock and grief_, I do not accept that._

_I go with peace. I am no longer the last dragon. Aithusa will carry the torch and help you unite Albion. It is her – and yours – destiny._

_We need **you**!_

_No, young warlock, _Kilgharrah expressed a little more firmly_, you do not. You do, however, need each other. Aithusa has not yet learned the human ways, but she is an adolescent dragon and I have taught her the ways of her kin. She can project thoughts in human languages, but she cannot speak it with her mouth. This – and human social skills, you must teach her, Merlin._

Tears were flowing freely down the sorcerer's cheeks now, his chest felt as if it was about to explode.

_I cannot take her in_, he argued, _if she comes anywhere near Camelot, she will be killed._

_You are the last dragonlord_, Kilgharrah reminded him, _it is your sacred duty. You do not have to concern yourself of her safety. No one in Camelot will see her true identity._

Merlin tried to dry his eyes – in vain. _What do you mean?_

The dragon's chest heaved and fell in one big breath. _Aithusa will go to you. She has a string to her bow that no dragon before her has ever had ..._

Kilgharrah died later that night and Merlin was not with him. The great dragon insisted on going to the ancient gods alone as was the dragon way. Yet the young warlock felt him die inside of him as the last breath of the dragon's filled his entire being from his fingertips to the smallest sinew in his toes. Merlin gasped with the pain that rippled through his lanky form.

Kilgharrah was dead.

A week, it took before Aithusa stood at the door. A week, in which Merlin mourned openly to the great confusion and puzzlement of his friends who understood and knew nothing. A week, in which he reminiscenced the old times, good as well as bad, with his friend, the Great Dragon. The loss was like a sharp blow to his heart. How could he ever recover? Kilgharrah and he had been kin, both magical beings, the dragon had been the only one really to understand what it was like to have magic.

It wasn't until he felt her there, by the door, the very essence of her soul and mind, tapping into his own and in so many ways more complete than Kilgharrah, that he realised that this was not the end – this was the beginning. And then he opened the door and saw her. The most beautiful being he had ever seen and felt.

Aithusa!

x

He led her into his own room, anxious that Gaius, who could be back any minute, should not spot her before he had had a chance to speak to her. Kilgharrah had warned him that she had a skill unlike no other dragon, yet is was not until he actually saw her that he understood which one. Aithusa was obviously a changeling – a shapeshifter! She could change from the form of a dragon into the form of a human. And other forms? Merlin didn't even realise that he had projected the question to her, and for the first time he heard her crystal clear voice in his mind like silver rain on his skin: _Yes, and other forms as well._

The warlock turned from the door that he had closed carefully and locked his eyes with hers. Gods, they were completely water blue – almost transparent. Somewhat like her voice that had been crisp and musical like a crystal bell.

_Aithusa. We must communicate like this until you learn to speak. _She blinked placidly._ I prefer this, _she projected._ That might be, but I am the only one who can hear you._

_Is that not enough?_ she asked, her eyes wide and big with wonder and innocence.

Merlin shook his head; he understood now what Kilgharrah had meant by learning the human ways. This beautiful dragon just had no idea.

_We must get you some other clothes. Where did you get these in the first place?_

She didn't beat an eyelash when telling him: _From a man who attacked me in the forest._

"_**What?**_" Merlin yelled, forgetting to project. He saw her wince, her newborn human hearing boosting his loud voice into her mind. He instantly lowered the volume. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Without the merest sign of regret, fear or trauma, the young girl told her new mentor about the assault and the outcome – and her presumption that this was what humans wore.

Merlin wiped his damp brow. OhMyGod – she'd barely been in Camelot for two hours and already she had been on the brink of both being violated, killed and revealed. A young girl spewing torches out of her mouth was not a daily occurrence and would not have gone unnoticed had someone seen it. On the other hand, the sorcerer also felt a chill down his spine that Aithusa had actually been in danger of being both raped and killed. He would have to protect her from such risks in the future. Preferably without anyone being roasted as a result – though secretly he felt with a certain glee that they had had it coming.

_Take my hand. We're going to the best seamstress in town to get you a dress. In the meantime, please don't use your dragon powers. You are in a human form, so behave humanly._

_I do not know how to do that._

Oh. Of course not, since she was there to learn exactly that.

_Then … concentrate on NOT performing magic for now, at least._

Aithusa cocked her head like a bird and obediently followed the gentle but insistent tug in her hand as Merlin led her out of his room and Gaius' chambers.

x

On their way to Gwen's house, Merlin frantically concocted a believable cover story for his dragon's presence at Camelot, and he was still working out the kinks when he knocked on his friend's door. She would still be in at this time of day.

A radiant Gwen opened the door and merely with a short glance on his companion bid Merlin welcome to her home.

"Gwen, this is Aithusa – a … distant relative of mine whose parents have died [not entirely untrue] in a fire. The shock has rendered her mute and she has been sent here to learn to talk again. All Authusa's clothes were burned in the fire. Can I commission a couple of dresses for her?"

Merlin tried to suppress his obvious relief when he saw Gwen's display of sympathy. So far, so good.

"Oh, of course, Merlin. I am so sorry to hear this," she reached for the young girl's hand, but didn't receive it.

"It's all right, Aithusa," Merlin said gently, "you can take her hand."

Tentatively, the young girl took Gwen's hand. "Where ever did you get these clothes?" Gwen murmured with both her eyebrows crawling up her forehead. For once, the warlock was grateful that the dragon couldn't speak. "Her father's – about the only thing that didn't burn," he explained, the latter being quite true.

In the privacy of Gwen's bedroom, she undressed the frail looking girl and put a model dress on her as dummy to take measures from. Aithusa kept getting mute instructions from a very worried dragonlord who had been left outside by a strict index finger and its owner, Gwen.

Just keep perfectly still, Aithusa. Let Gwen do to you what she want. It won't hurt you. You can trust her.

The dragon-in-disguise listened to her mentor with one ear and to Gwen's soothing sounds with another; she found that at this very moment, Gwen had the most calming effect on her psyche. She liked the sound of her voice and her beautiful soft and dark eyes and the nut brown shade of her skin. The seamstress' skilled and experienced hands quickly and gently tightened and loosened the dummy dress where appropriate and soon took a step back with satisfaction in her face.

"There," she stated, "perfect! I'll take the measurements and have one of the dresses ready for you later today."

Aithusa stared back at her, not offering any reply, naturally. Gwen took out the needles and helped her out of the dummy, saying: "You know, you are completely safe with Merlin. He's the kindest soul there is. He will help you recover and regain your voice and he will never let you down."

The young girl with the uncanny eyes blinked. She knew that, of course. She had known so from the very moment she had heard him calling her by her rightful name. Merlin was the other part of her soul. Kilgharrah had been her tutor, her foster parent.

Kilgharrah was dead. She had felt his heartbeat abate and sensed the pain when it stopped, and that is when she recalled his last instructions. To go find Merlin in the event of his death.

Kilgharrah was dead.

Suddenly she saw a startled expression on Gwen's face and that's when she felt something on her cheeks. Wet. Trickling. She raised her hand to her face and felt how the wet and trickling sensation came from her eyes. She whirred her head gently; reptilians had tear ducts for lubrication of the eyes. Apparently, too much lubrication had caused them to brim? She slowly wiped her face in her arm.

"It's all right, sweetie," Gwen said softly, putting her hand on the girl's arm, "it's okay to cry. Crying heals the soul."

Aithusa was confused and called out to her other half, her voice fearful and anxious.

"What's going on?" Merlin demanded to know, bursting through Gwen's bedroom door. The seamstress looked up, a little surprised at her friend's vehemence and then laughed silently.

"Nothing much," she smiled, "Aithusa is shedding some tears for her family, quite understandably."

Merlin looked at her dragon with puzzlement. She was, indeed, crying. Why did that elicit such a reaction in her?

_My tear ducts are ill._

And that's when it dawned on him. As tears of sorrow or joy are uniquely human, Aithusa had never been crying before.

x

When Merlin and his new protégée returned to the castle, he stopped by the guards to introduce his guest, vouching for the now very sad young girl and explaining the nature of her taciturn demeanour. Now, that the conscientious guards knew her by sight, she would have no problem going in and out without having to voice (?) her identity. Merlin quickly shoved her lithe form through the door and immediately went for his room where they …

… met Gaius.

"Gaius!"

"Merlin!"

The young sorcerer stood frozen on the spot whereas the elderly physician crossed his arms and looked at the pair in front of him with his usual cocked eyebrow. He indicated Aithusa's presence with a stern nod.

"Taking your dates home with you, Merlin?"

"Errmm," Merlin said inarticulately while his facial hue went from ghostly white to deep red in a nano-second.

Gaius smirked. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Well … what are you doing in my room?" Merlin said accusatorily, attempting to take the defence.

"Looking for you!"

"Well … here I am," he said feebly. The defence strategy hadn't worked.

"I see that – in the company with a very beautiful, albeit sad young woman."

"Oh … yes. Sorry. Gaius, this is Aithusa, a relative of mine who needs a place to stay … Aithusa, this is Gaius, the Court Physician."

Being completely clueless as to social introductions, Aithusa remained immovable. Merlin nudged her a little, saying through the corner of his mouth:

"This is where you smile and nod as greeting."

Aithusa nodded obligingly in a very stiff and military fashion complete with a just as stiff and somewhat unsettling smile that never reached her eyes. Gaius' infamous eyebrow crept further up his forehead. Then he smiled falsely at his assistant.

"Merlin, can I speak to you?"

"Well, actually, I was ..."

"_**Now**_, Merlin?"

With a last, projected _Stay here and wait for me – don't move a finger _instruction for Aithusa, Merlin, chagrined, followed Gaius out of his room and into the laboratory.

"Right. Out with it!"

Gaius watched as Merlin's typical tell-tale squinting told him everything he wanted to know: That this girl most definitely was not his relative.

"Okay, so she's not my relative."

"Hah!"

"... but she is my kin, and she needs help!"

Gaius' face was unfathomable.

"I need more information."

"Look … her entire family is dead. She's in deep shock and has lost the ability to speak. How can I turn her away?"

"Merlin, she's _reeking _of magic! I can smell it!"

The young sorcerer winced; obviously, Gaius would sense it. He may not be a warlock, but ages of magical experience had taught him how to spot magical beings.

"Look … just trust me, right?"

"No!"

"But ..."

"Get it into your thick skull, Merlin. King Arthur is upholding the ban on magic. Until he sees things differently, meddling with magic is punishable by death. Every second that young girl is here, her life is in grave danger."

The warlock completely agreed, of course, it was just that …

"... I have no choice. She's clueless, Gaius. Turning her away now would be like throwing her to the wolves (_which she would totally fry, but better not mention that_, Merlin thought). If we turn her away, where would she go?"

"The druids!" came the prompt reply.

"She will not take orders from anyone but me," Merlin said, frustrated and running out of arguments.

"Nonsense! Why wouldn't she?"

And that's when Merlin finally decided that Gaius had better be his ally than his opponent.

"... because she's a **dragon**, Gaius," Arthur's manservant blurted out, his shoulders falling in a mixture of relief and surrender.

That made the old physician's jaw drop to the floor with a resounding thud. Uncharacteristically, it took him over a minutes to collect himself, but he finally leaned forward, pinning Merlin with his eyes and uttering just one prominent question:

"Do you want to take it .. from the top?"

It took Merlin the better half of an hour to recount the entire story from the moment he spared Kilgharrah's life till the Great Dragon's last breath. Gaius felt slightly miffed that his young protégée had kept all this from him, but found it in his heart to forgive him when he saw how all this affected his dragonlord identity.

"It is a heavy responsibility, Merlin," he acquiesced, "I now understand why you feel you must undertake this gargantuan enterprise."

Merlin was shaking his head, his lean features drawn in anxiety. "She will be subjected to a massive threat here, I agree with you in that."

Gaius smirked. "Taking her first encounter with ruffians into consideration, I'm not sure that it is she who runs the risk, Merlin."

The young boy nodded, mirroring the older man's smirk. "I know – and I have asked her not to do that again."

Gaius sighed and got up, his old legs creaking with arthritis as he unfolded the joints.

"We will have to find a way. If Kilgharrah says she needs to learn human ways, we can't very well pack her off to the country where she meets no one."

"But I can't keep an eye on her all the time, Gaius," Merlin said, handing the physician his bag as he recognised the tell-tale signs that the doctor was leaving to continue his rounds.

"Perhaps you don't have to. You have the bond, after all and you can stay in touch even as you do your chores for the King."

And with those promises of more labour than Merlin had ever dreamt would be loaded on his shoulders, Gaius left with an evil snigger, leaving his apprentice with an unpleasant sense of dread.

And that's when the young warlock remembered that he hadn't sensed Aithusa for an hour.

_Oh, my god, what has she been doing_, he thought and rushed to his room, flinging the door open.

And gasped!

xxx

So? Whattaya think?


	3. Growing Pains

**Disclaimers**: yadayada

**A/N**: Can you tell I have a dog? Well, you can after this chapter. ;)

And SO many thanks for your kind reviews. I am very grateful and keep 'em coming, please. I need to know if I'm doing it right, here. One of your reviews has already helped me enormously and elicited a correction in chapter 1. Cheers ever so much!

CHAPTER 2

**Growing pains**

Merlin stood in the middle of his room in what appeared to the mess of the century. In his absence, the young dragon had stacked all the furniture into one huge pile, placed haphazardly on top of each other, causing drawers to topple over and releasing their contents all over the floor.

"What... what are you doing?" Merlin cried, startled. The young girl turned to look at him with her glass-like glance. _I was cold_.

And that's when Merlin noticed that smoke was coming out of her mouth. Oh, no! She had built herself a bonfire and was about to light it!

_Aithusa! No fires! Not allowed!_

_I did not move a finger, _she pointed out, reading his facial expression correctly.

_NO – but you used magic!_

_You did not forbid me to do that, _she argued.

Merlin closed his eyes in pain. True. He hadn't been very specific as to when she could use magic and his former instruction could have been construed as having been there and then and thus over with. This creature had not learned how to read situations or humans. He would have to remember to be very, very literal and logical in his approach. This particular situation, he had managed to defuse in the last nick of moment. However, what about the next time?

_Heaven have mercy on me – and on this castle if it is to be left in one piece!_

With an enormous effort, Merlin got a grip and opened his eyes again. Whispering a few words made everything in his room redistribute itself to whence it came, though this earned him a stern look from the dragon that he had just told never to use magic.

Merlin straightened._ Remember, Aithusa, from now on and until I say you can, no magic, no fires, _Merlin said, hoping to god that that would cover it,_ now, come with me; you must be hungry_. A certain glint in her watery eyes agreed with him and she glued herself to him as they exited his room and went into the kitchen. It was like having a dog that instantly understood the word 'food'. Merlin smiled as he sliced the bread and took out the cheese. _I bet I will have to teach her how to cook too_.

**CLANG!**

Merlin turned on his heels, alert and on the verge of developing a nervous twitch already. Now what? At first, he didn't quite understand what was happening. He saw the slim young girl crouched at the far corner of the laboratory, a stool had been knocked over and a couple of books lay on the floor.

_Aithusa? What are you doing?_ The thin form turned round and Merlin started. There was a mouse dangling from her mouth, delicately secured by her incredibly white teeth. Overcoming his first impulse to gag, Merlin said out loud: "No! Aithusa, put it down – humans do not eat mice!"

Too late! The dragon had already swallowed the rodent, fur, ears, whiskers and tail, the latter, however, still sticking out. Yet this time, her dragon ways had consequences as she bent over, coughing and choking. Obviously, the mouse didn't make it down through her human throat as easily as her reptilian. Merlin went to her a patted her back carefully. _I tried to warn you_, he projected at her, wincing at the idea of introducing this girl into the royal society with their fancy dinners. Perhaps not just yet.

Gasping for air, Aithusa straightened and with an impressive effort managed to inhale enough air to continue and gulp the water Merlin had provided for her, and by and by she succeeded in downing the live meal after all.

After making sure that she could breathe again, a relieved Merlin took her by the hand and led her to the dinner table.

_Now … take this bread instead … no, no, you take one bite at a time …._

After a couple of slices, his dragon stopped eating, her arms flung tightly round her stomach with a strained expression in her face. _Oh, dear – that mouse is probably giving her a belly ache_, Merlin thought with a horror.

And there it was! Without preamble, Aithusa convulsed, gagged, and delivered the mouse, dead but whole, right on the dinner table, in the company with two slices of half chewed bread. Merlin never had time to remove himself. Covered in stomach grime, forbidden images of himself spraying porridge all over Gaius came to his mind. Was this Fate's way of getting back at him? Still, porridge was porridge, this was … a rodent. Not fair.

After having disposed of the unfortunate little critter and the rest of Aithusa's meal, the poor girl had lost all appetite (although Merlin wasn't quite sure if it was the mouse or the bread that did it) and Merlin proceeded to concentrate on her toilette instead. Her caretaker showed her the wash room, trying to explain to her that this was where you disposed of stomach contents when it came out the other way; when he mentioned washing, she immediately started nipping her skin like a reptile would do, so he took her slim, fragile hands and plunged them into the water. She retracted them with a little squeal. Though water, of course, was no news to her, it was a very new sensation on her human skin. Merlin bit his lip; this was going to take time.

On the other hand … he looked at her and a small smile crept over his face. Who could resist this adorable young girl as she fumbled her way through life? Here she was, trying very hard to dry herself with a towel that just crumbled between her hands. Then he was called back to reality abruptly as he heard her project: _This takes too long_, and promptly turned herself into a big, fluffy dog that quickly dried itself by shaking its fur. For the second time that day, Merlin's face was dripping. _What did I tell you about using magic?_

Aithusa cocked her head. _But shapeshifting is second nature to me, it is not magic_, she complained. Merlin sighed inwardly. He understood her only too well – and now he also understood Gaius and his numerous attempts to stifle his … activity over the years. _Poor Gaius. Poor me!_

With a feeling of impending doom, Merlin left the girl in his chambers with strict orders of not …. to do anything. Except read a book on the human body that he had found in Gaius' vast personal library. Fortunately, the girl could read; this was one human-thing that Kilgharrah had actually taught her. Despite his assurances that he would be back soon, her heart shaped face still shot him a glance of silent terror as he was leaving her. _Call me with your mind when you feel anxious_, he told her, reassuringly. _Please, stay_, she projected. _I can't; I have chores to do for the King, but we will stay in touch through our minds and I will be back shortly_.

As he closed the door, he felt her last _don't go _in his heart.

x

When Merlin finally made it to Arthur's chambers, the King had long gone and left a very messy place. In the midst of breakfast remains on the table, lay a lonely scrap of paper where it spelled quite clearly: **YOU'RE FIRED!**

Merlin smirked. No, he probably wasn't, but still he would have to come up with a plausible reason for bailing on his master this morning. He sighed; quite frankly, he saw no other viable solution than to come clear with the King and tell him the cover story of the poor, scorched and traumatised helpless little girl. It would come to his attention eventually anyway.

Tidying up the room, picking up the King's clothes that had been flung over the nearest chair gave Merlin ample time to reach out for Aithusa's mind. Yet, she was enwrapped in the book he had introduced her to, which made the warlock sigh with relief. So far, so good.

Merlin was still scrubbing the floor, when Arthur came back, his armour clanging in an annoyed manner as evidence to his foul mood. Obviously training hadn't gone that well.

"**Where have you been?**" was roared into the thin face of his manservant. Ah, yes – he was in a 'splendid' mood.

"An emergency," Merlin began.

"And this isn't?" the King interrupted him, waving his hand at the ungodly mess.

_Oh, please_, Merlin thought, but said: "A family emergency."

If there was one thing that King Arthur respected it was family business. The young, blonde king instantly simmered down, raised his arms so that Merlin could unshackle him from his armour and asked: "Family business? Not your mother, I trust."

"No, not Hunith," Merlin admitted, "A cousin once removed has lost her parents in a fire and she has been left mute by the shock."

Arthur frowned. "That's terrible, Merlin."

Merlin put down the armour and proceeded to take off the king's chain mail.

"Yes. She has no place to live, no relative but me and is just a young, innocent, vulnerable girl."

_Was it too much?_

"Well, what about your mother?" Arthur murmured, discarding his shirt.

Damn! Why hadn't he thought of that. Quickly, quickly …

"Um … Hunith doesn't know how to cure her speech impediment … we thought Gaius perhaps ..."

"Oh! Of course! My physician is your physician."

Merlin let out a very well hidden sigh of relief.

"So what's her name and how old is she?"

The King signalled for the water bowl which Merlin instantly brought over. Better make the best of his master's sympathy.

"Aithusa. She's … 16." Actually Merlin had no idea, but she looked 16 to him whatever that might be in dragon years.

And that's when it hit him; he had parked Aithusa in Gaius' chambers with a book on humans; yet he should be reading a book on dragons as well! The young sorcerer was so in tune with dragons, yet he knew nothing about their physique at all. That would have to be remedied.

"Sixteen?" Arthur said and thus brought Merlin back to the present, "that must be hard. I can't imagine losing your parents at such a vulnerable age."

Arthur went taciturn, having now been reminded of his own father's death. Merlin gave the king a moment or two to recover and then cleared his voice discreetly.

"I'm afraid she will require some of my time until she's better," he said tentatively. To his immense surprise, the king nodded, "Take care of her, Merlin. Just see that the chores you can't muster are covered by other servants. And ..." he added, "I want you to handle at least half of your usual duties and I want to meet the girl."

The grin that was beginning to spread over the boy's features at the King's sympathetic attitude, quickly vanished by his wish to actually meet Aithusa. OhMyGodOhMyGod!

"I .. of course. If you can wait a couple of days. She really is quite shaken."

Arthur nodded, smiled and turned to his desk.

"Then that's settled. Do you have the corrections for my speech to the Cabinet?"

Merlin winced … how could he forget?

"Yes … at home." It sounded painful even as he heard it himself. Arthur squinted at him.

"Merlin, just this once, I will forgive you now that I know about your cousin, but get your act together from now on, all right? So – chop, chop, get me the scroll and come back here."

Grateful that for once flying objects weren't headed his way, Merlin scooted out through the door as quickly as he could.

After having delivered the corrected scroll and been subjected to the King's 'this-is-an-honour-that-I-bestow-upon-you-Merlin'-speech, Merlin was free to go and he instantly headed for the library where, thankfully, Geoffrey was absent and momentarily replaced by an assistant. Merlin quickly located an encyclopaedia on dragons and started reading.

After 30 minutes he sensed a frustrated Aithusa call for him which made him put down the book immediately and return to his and Gaius' chambers. He found her sitting on his cot still … with a great wet puddle underneath her. She looked very unhappy.

_I have soiled myself in your lair_, she projected. Merlin sent her a smile of relief. At least, this was easy to handle. _It's all right. You still need to recognise the sign your body is giving you when you need to go._ He helped her to stand and led her to the toilet, she clung to him like a small child as she covered the wet stain on her trousers.

While Aithusa was getting to know her body reactions in the wash room, Merlin changed the sheets of his cot. It was literally like having a baby, he thought. His only hope was that she would learn a darn sight faster than a real human baby. He heard the toilet door squeak plaintively on its old rusty hinges and turned round to greet a … half naked Aithusa. She had discarded the wet trousers. And Merlin blushed; he blushed and blushed till the red hue covered his ears. It wasn't from seeing a woman naked; he had done so on numerous occasions, lastly with Freya lying shivering on the cave floor after having changed back from a black cat, but that had been another situation entirely. This was an oblivious young woman, who wasn't shivering or cowering at all.

_You have changed your facial colour_, she remarked.

_Errrmmm – yes, I bet I have_, he replied. _Here! Take this blanket_, the young warlock quickly grabbed a blanket from the corner of the room and wrapped it round her hips. _There. Now you're not so … exposed._

_Is that why humans are wearing clothes?_ she asked, curiously, _you do not like being exposed?_

"Yes!" Merlin cried gratefully, "that's exactly it. And we don't like seeing others exposed either."

"Anyway," he continued as he led her to the now clean and dry cot, "Gwen will be here with your new dress presently, and until then, you just sit here and read on."

_I have read the book_, she pointed out. Merlin looked at her in surprise. "What already?" and then, cocking his head with the faintest hint of reproach, "you didn't use magic, did you?"

_No_, she projected, _it was a simple book._

Merlin's eyebrows made it to his hair line. He was sure that that wasn't a word Gaius would have used to describe his encyclopaedia on the human physique. _And did it make you the wiser?_

_Yes_, the dragon admitted, _I know now why I have begun to bleed._

Merlin jumped as if he had been knocked over by one of Arthur's sword blows. "**You are** _**bleeding**_?" he cried out loud. She nodded, having learned that that human signal of acknowledgement at least. Merlin grabbed the sheet he had just discarded and sure enough – there were some faint red spots. OhMyGod!

Aithusa was not just in human form – she was in a **fertile** human form.

Sixteen and fertile.

Heaven help him!

x

"Heaven help us!"

The words were Gaius' and for once, Merlin couldn't agree more.

"That's what I was thinking," he grumbled.

"Merlin, you will have to lock her up!" Gaius said, emphasising every word, "she probably hasn't discovered it yet, but once those teenage hormones are raging, she will have no upbringing to help her ignore them!"

"Don't worry," Merlin said through clenched teeth, "I feel her every move, and if I so much as sense the presence of male, I will personally take him apart."

Gaius almost laughed at his young friend's vigilant expression. "Spoken like a true father, but you being hanged for man slaughter doesn't exactly help her situation."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Gaius sighed. "Well, we are at a loss here. You and I have seen this issue from the other end and not hers."

Merlin nodded. "Gwen is coming round any second now. We could ask her to have a talk with Aithusa – well – as talks go with her."

"Not a bad idea," Gaius admitted. Then he straightened and looked at his protégée with something very like pride. "You know, Merlin, you're turning into a quite resourceful father, I daresay."

Gwen came by after supper, carrying a beautiful ash blue everyday dress for the new young addition to the Gaius household. She greeted Aithusa cordially and held up the dress, satisfying herself that she had got it exactly right. "You'll look beautiful in it," she stated and answered the girl's smile that was becoming increasingly less stiff.

Gwen took Aithusa by the elbow as her hand was still holding the blanket and turned to Merlin's room while, in the background, the two men were arguing as to whom it befell to ask Gwen the … painful question.

"She's **your **responsibility."

"But **you're** her physician."

"**You're **her foster parent."

"But **you **have known Gwen the longest!"

They never saw Gwen approaching, one eyebrow popping up enquiringly.

"And .. what is this about?"

The two of them turned their heads in unison, followed by a likewise unison 'erm'.

Then Merlin sighed and stepped forward. "Gwen, could we ask you to … I mean … Aithusa's mother never got the chance to … and now she's ..."

"Menstruating?" Gwen suggested.

Merlin's eyes widened and his shoulders fell so quickly it was almost comical.

"YES! How did you...?"

"I saw the blood on the sheets," Gwen laughed, "you poor guys. You really have got your hands full, haven't you?" then she turned to Gaius.

"Honestly, Gaius – you're a physician!"

"I can tell her about the physical part of it, as I have already provided her with towels," he grumbled, "but she has already read a whole book on it. It's the … do-not-run-after-boys-and-ignore-your-hormones-part we need you to convey."

"Oh," Gwen said and then frowned, "hasn't her mother already …?"

"No," Merlin said quickly, hoping to god he wouldn't have to explain this further.

Fortunately, he didn't. Gwen took it in her stride and said instead:

"Well, we'll take tea, thank you very much – and a biscuit and then she and I will retreat to your room, Merlin."

Armed with her request, Gwen went back into the said room, leaving the men outside while they, perhaps for the umpteenth time in their life, were wondering exactly what women were telling each other when not in the company of men.

xxx

That's it for now. Let me know how it was and don't be afraid to be critical. That's how I learn, after all. :-)


	4. Hormones

**Disclaimers**: Not mine, and I'm actually not interested as long as I get to play with it. ;) All BBC's

**A/C**: At the bottom of the page to avoid spoilers

CHAPTER 3

**Hormones!**

The following days went a little – but only a little – more smoothly. Gradually, Aithusa was getting used to using the wash room, and slowly she was getting used to normal human food. She would, though, still throw a longing glance after the occasional critter or cat in the street and stand very close to Gaius or Merlin when they were cooking, her eyes hungrily focused on the piece of meat they had dropped in the pot or on the cook in question if the food be vegetarian. This made especially Gaius very grateful that Merlin was a dragonlord even if the old man probably was tough to eat and not her immediate preference. Merlin would even catch her drooling at unattended moments despite the fact that he had cautioned her not to do so. _It is not proper_, he warned her. _Why not?_ she wanted to know. Merlin couldn't quite explain it – it had something to do with decorum. And then he had to explain to her what decorum was. It was during moments like that that he seized the opportunity to urge her to pronounce the word in question.

"No, Aithusa, look at my mouth: _de-_," with a wide open mouth he attempted to show her what his mouth did. The young girl mimicked his actions and succeeded in emitting something like _eu_ that sounded more like a bovine creature in need than a man-made sound.

Gaius watched from a distance, shaking his head.

"Merlin, teaching another being to speak should start with simple sounds. Not complicated ones like _decorum_."

The young warlock looked at his mentor with an expression of slight annoyance.

"Yeah? What would you choose, then?"

Having been hoping for this opening, albeit an annoyed one, the physician stepped closer, caught Aithusa's eye and said:

"Aithusa, my dear, round your lips, use your midriff to press out some air in little huffs like this," Gaius said, squeezing out the letter _o_.

Aithusa frowned, looking at Merlin, who nodded his approval at her, and she eventually mimicked the sound nicely. Her success took her by surprise and she looked up and looked at her two hosts, who were cheering her along with huge smiles. In her eagerness to please and to follow up her good effort, she tried again, this time applying more force in the air huffing…

… which resulted in a torch of fire leaving her mouth with a hiss.

Impressively swift for such an old man, Gaius threw himself to floor, whereas Merlin made a very nice ballet move to the right, dodging her lethal flame by an inch.

"WOAH..." Merlin exclaimed, "a little less midriff, perhaps!"

At least she was getting a bad conscience now when she accidentally used her dragon powers, Merlin concluded when he noticed the two red spots on her cheeks and her lowered eyes.

Most of the time, Aithusa did behave, but then there were other times when something odd had happened, like when the Camelot tinker couldn't find his cat and Merlin found the young girl gently hiccuping in a corner with some black and white fur popping out of her mouth, but generally, Merlin had become confident that it was time for Aithusa to meet Arthur.

After all, it would just be a meeting worth of a couple of minutes. What could possibly go wrong in such a short time?

x

"How is your protégée, Merlin?" King Arthur asked, being in a good mood due to his manservant's timely delivery of his next speech.

"Funny, you should ask," Merlin answered, "She still can't speak [thank god!], but I do believe she's ready to meet you."

Arthur popped his eyebrows up. "Really? She's recovered enough to meet people in general?"

_Not really_, Merlin thought, but thought better of voicing that opinion.

"You will be her first … so to speak. If you don't mind being a guinea pig, that is."

The King didn't quite take to the grin on Merlin's lips, but decided to ignore it. After all, how problematic could it be to meet one wee girl?

"You .. you think she's ready?" Gaius close to stammered, having been quite shaken by the fire spewing episode.

"She may never be," the warlock said wryly, "but at least she'll meet Arthur before she can speak, and I find that of vital importance."

Gaius nodded, "you may be right. Well, then you have to instruct her carefully – remember that she still takes everything quite literally."

Merlin agreed, "Don't worry – I will. Good thing that it'll be a meeting of a few minutes and no more."

His eyebrow in place, Gaius didn't comment on that; in his opinion, a few minutes were more than enough to instigate disaster.

Aithusa was sitting with a bowl, trying to peel pea pods; she didn't have much luck, which was obvious from the heaps of squashed and ripped pods round her chair. Merlin watched her affectionately: how she sat there with her dress drawn over her knees balancing the bowl between her bare knees. This particular exercise had caused her problems too and had partly resulted in the excess of peas on the floor. Her eyes were reflecting deep concentration and her otherwise very smooth brow was knitted in frustration and effort as one pod after the other slid through her fingers and down onto the floor. Merlin's smile widened. She was so diligent and her tenacity appeared boundless. Kilgharrah might not be round any more, but she would learn eventually out of sheer obstinacy. The warlock went to her side, picked up a pea pod and one more time showed her how to separate the pod halves from each other and take out the peas. She watched with deep fascination and awe and tried it again herself. A little better this time, yet it still left room for improvement. Merlin put his hands over hers and helped her fingers pry the pod halves apart.

_It's a question of coordination_, he projected to her the way he always did when she needed comfort. _Eventually, your fingers will grasp the idea_. She nodded obligingly.

Merlin then lifted his head and looked at her with an encouraging smile. _You have been such a clever girl these past few days, do you know that?_ She nodded again, and Merlin smiled at her self-confidence. _I believe you are ready to meet someone. _He felt her surprise through the bond and hastened to reassure her: _It is not difficult; it just requires a bit of courtesy and a smile. What is courtesy? I shall teach you, do not worry. _The dragon nodded_. Who?_

_Well, how would you like to meet King Arthur? _She blinked. No reaction. Obviously, the King's name meant nothing to her. Hadn't Kilgharrah told her about their destinies? _You know, the king that is going to unite Albion?_

_Yes_, she finally answered.

"Are you not looking forward to this?" Merlin tried again, this time out loud.

_He has yet to prove himself to me_, she explained. Oh, so that was it. Dragon pride! Merlin quelled a snigger. _Well, I think very highly of him and I hope you will too._

The next day, Gwen delivered the second commissioned dress, the girl's formal 'dress dress', so to speak and it was, decidedly, a vision to behold: the colours of cream and warm pistachio green were laced with ornaments of silver and white applications. The colour combination was a perfect match for the girl's ghostly hue and complemented her golden white hair, giving it depth and shine. Merlin beamed at her and couldn't be prouder.

"Gwen – she's a vision! And you're amazing!"

"Thank you," she said, a broad, satisfied smile on her face, "and you owe me two pieces of silver!"

Merlin's smile dropped comically fast. "Um … GAIUS!"

Gwen laughed at the sight of the tall, lanky boy, who ran to find his mentor, and turned to Aithusa, who stood holding the skirt up, staring at all the decoration in fascination.

"I hope you like it," she smiled, "you can use this for special occasions – like today when you meet the King. He's very nice – I'm sure you going to get on famously." and then she leaned a little closer and said in a low voice: "Did you read the book I lent you?"

Aithusa nodded eagerly. "Good," Gwen said, "keep the book for a while yet and heed the words on relationship and meeting a young man. You should take care of yourself, Aithusa. You're such a pretty young girl and men will adore you, but it is important that **you **make the choice."

Again, Aithusa nodded dutifully, assuring her friend that she understood perfectly.

Merlin finally returned with the payment for Gwen, ignoring Gaius' profanity in the background. The fabric might have been expensive, but seeing Aithusa in the dress had been well worth it. Now, the girl was definitely ready to meet the King. He had prepped her carefully. Nothing could go wrong.

x

**Knock, knock.**

"Come in," King Arthur cried from behind his desk, knowing that it would be more people than just his manservant – who never knocked.

Sure enough; the door opened and let in a proudly beaming Merlin followed by a somewhat sceptical looking Gaius and … a very young girl, who … Arthur gasped involuntarily … was easily the most ethereal being he had ever seen.

"Your Majesty," Merlin said and very uncharacteristically bowed. _He must be educating her_, Arthur thought, after having recovered from the initial shock. The King stepped forward, donning his most winning smile and held out his hand graciously. " … Aithusa, isn't it?"

Merlin led her forth and nodded at her and she raised her glass-like glance to meet Arthur's deep blue eyes and he saw … a deep well of eternity and innocence that almost took his breath away. _No way this can be a relative of Merlin_, he couldn't help thinking. For starters, they were like night and day. He took her hand and bowed over it and thus did not see the odd, hungry, predatory expression suddenly present in those uncanny, transparent eyes.

… and that's when his guest suddenly, without warning, flung herself at him, her arms round his neck and her young mouth pressed against his.

What happened next was a jumble and nobody later remembered the exact sequence of events. Gaius cried something, Merlin leapt forward and Arthur felt how he was losing his balance in utter surprise and shock as the girl still clung to him, trying very hard to shower him with kisses and fencing him in with her long, thin legs. With a crash and several ouches and the flapping sound of paper and scrolls that made it from the desk and down to the floor, the intertwined couple fell on top of the writing desk, Arthur on his back and Aithusa on top of him. It wasn't until Merlin actually managed to pry her off of him that Arthur felt the sensation of her lips against his disappear. Merlin was having his own problems. He had wrapped his arms round her slim waistline, but she still had those long legs kicking in the air. Suddenly his manservant appeared to concentrate hard and oddly enough, the girl instantly calmed down and fell almost limp in his arms. Her hair was all mussed up and the beautiful gown somewhat wrinkled, but the girl herself looked completely composed with an attentive expression in her face while, clearly, she was listening to some inaudible voice.

"I'm so sorry, Sire," Merlin huffed, as soon as he was able to catch his breath.

Arthur cleared his voice, dusting himself down. "That's all right. I'm … flattered. It was … eh … nice to meet you, Aithusa. Welcome to Camelot."

Gaius took the girl by her arm and she followed him docilely, and a somewhat rattled Arthur halted Merlin on his way out of his chambers.

"I see what you mean, Merlin. She appears very … um … confused and marred by her experience. I can understand why you need time off for this ..."

Merlin smiled in relief, his usually pallid face flushed from ear to ear.

".. but for the love of god, - what**ever** made you think she was ready for this?"

"Eerrm.." was the manservant's unintelligible reply.

"My point exactly," the King said wryly, "take good care of her and don't let her meet people until she's actually ready!"

Relieved beyond belief that Arthur had taken it so well, the warlock trotted off to follow Gaius and Aithusa, very, very curious as to why his dragon girl had performed such a spectacle.

x

_His hair was blonde._

_And?_

Aithusa had been asked to explain her behaviour to a very stern dragonlord and her answer had been enigmatic at best.

_I am also blonde._

_So?_

_According to Gwen's book, I should initiate contact with appropriate matches only. Gwen told me to make my own choice, so I did._

_Match? Choice? What? Whatwhatwhat book?_

_Gwen's book_, Aithusa repeated patiently, going to Merlin's room and getting out the aforementioned book. Merlin looked at it with horror: **Meeting a spouse.**

_Gwen has given you this?_

_Lent me this_, the young dragon corrected him factually.

So their clever plan of girl-to-girl-talk had backfired. Not knowing what kind of creature she was sitting with, Gwen had talked to and advised Aithusa the same way she would another woman – human woman, that is. So Aithusa had seen Arthur and out of his hair colour (!) deemed him a worthy mate – and acted on this, her hormones overriding the instructions he had given her as to meeting the King.

Merlin sighed audibly, suddenly feeling very, very tired and infinitely old.

"Aithusa," he said out loud, "you are not to approach **any** man in a mating way – at all. Is that clear?"

She was frowning. This command did not sit well with her. _Then how am I to produce offspring?_

"You're not!" came the firm reply.

_But the book on human physique mentions this – it is a part of being human as it is of being dragon._

Oh, swell – another plan that backfired. Merlin felt at his wit's end.

"Aithusa … what you do with your life as a dragon I have no influence on – but as long as you're a human, you do not … I repeat – you do **not **engage in a sexual relationship with anyone. Is that clear?"

She blinked, still not happy with his instructions. Recalcitrance, he thought on the brink of crying his eyes out, also a teen trait.

_But I have this yearning inside of me_, she argued.

_Ignore it_, was his curt reply. She looked down, now looking like a puppy that had been bereft of its favourite toy. She stood a while, shifting her weight from foot to foot, fidgeting. _It is hard_, she acknowledged. He had to agree with her. Then she looked up and met his glance. _Have you never had a yearning?_

Merlin's eyes became vacant at the memory. "Yes," he said, his voice becoming soft, "I nearly escaped with her, but it was not to be."

The sudden reminiscence and the intensity of sharing this with the dragon he had brought to life made tears press upon his eyes and he felt how Aithusa's soul reached out to him, wrapping him up in a mental embrace.

Without any tactile contact, she consoled him more than any mother's touch would have.

x

The next days, both Gaius and Merlin concentrated on teaching Aithusa how to speak. The meeting with King Arthur had actually produced the advantage that the King now understood what his manservant was up against and thus gave him a longer leash. Practice and tenacity resulted in perfectly pronounced sounds like _a, o _and _e_, and quite quickly she was able to combine them in syllables, including the most common consonants: _be, of, an, go_ etc. A couple of times, she managed to say actual words, like _bed, food_ and _lair_.

The concentrated language lessons took its toll on the dragon girl as Merlin felt her recalcitrance grow and annoyance increase. When she had one of her 'moods', only his dragonlord status kept her from stomping her foot and leave. The warlock sympathised. This could not be easy. Consequently, he decided to give Aithusa a day off.

Correction, he thought as he took in the cool night air and wrapped his jacket more tightly round himself, - a **night **off.

Merlin had taken Aithusa to the place where he used to meet her dragon mentor, Kilgharrah. The place was hidden well and perfect for landing and taking off and would thus be a nice spot for the white dragon to stretch her wings and be … a dragon.

"Well, shapeshifter," he murmured, stroking her cheek, "spread your wings and have a ball. We don't need to go back until early daybreak."

Aithusa flashed him a toothy smile that, for once, didn't look eerie. She quickly leapt forward and spread her arms that quickly morphed into leathery wings. Fascinated, Merlin watched as the rest of her was transformed into a dragon to fit the wings and for the first time, Merlin actually set his eyes on the full grown form of the white dragon Aithusa. It took his breath away.

Her scales glinted white in the faint light of the half moon, her eyes, still watery blue, blinked at him the way he remembered when he called her into this world. Her brow and nose ridge were slightly aquiline, her limbs slim and long and her tail longer than that of Kilgharrah.

"Amazing," Merlin sighed, "the last time I saw you as a dragon ..." then he frowned, suddenly remembering an interesting fact from back then. "The last time I saw you as a dragon, you were a boy dragon."

Aithusa nodded, this human movement now so integrated in her that she used it too in her dragon shape. _That is true, my dragonlord_, she projected, _when I realised I was the last of my kind, however, I changed my sex._

Merlin looked at her, bewildered. "How can you do that?"

_It is not uncommon even in non-magical beings_, she pointed out, _some of my distant amphibian relations can do this when our species is in need of breeding._

Without further comment, the white dragon bent her legs and her heavy body lifted itself off the ground, quickly flapping the large wings and within seconds reached a high altitude.

Merlin laughed out loud as he saw how she playfully threw herself into the air, making one loop after the other, expressing sheer joy of life, diving quickly towards the ground only to break off in the last nick of moment and then rising vertically towards the stars. Had she not been white, he would have had a hard time following her flight in the night. This was her true self, her real nature; she was in his household on loan, only – he would lose her company one day.

Merlin sat down on a stone and watched her, thirstily drinking the sight of her every move.

x

Walking home by daybreak, the sun only just beginning to peer over the horizontal line, Merlin keenly felt how relaxed the nightly excursion had made Aithusa. They were passing through the slowly awakening town, Aithusa lively and energetic and Merlin tired to the bone having been bereft of his much needed sleep. _But it was worth it_, he thought, _I am sure this will prove to work wonders on her tension and it will be much easier for her to concentrate on learning how to speak and to ignore her hormones._

Engulfed in what he hoped and believed to be prophetic musings, he never noticed how Aithusa's head suddenly whiplashed to the left, her eyes very attentive and her smile very predatory. Her pheromonal sense picked up the seductive movement and masculine musky scent of someone who was very much a man. This particular man was just coming out of a tavern where he had spent the entire night, his long limbs dangling in a debonair and suave way even if he was stone drunk.

Aithusa had just spotted Gwaine

xxx

**A/C **– Totally true about the sex change of some amphibians, eg. the clownfish. They used this fact in _Jurassic Park _as well.


	5. Getting wiser

**Disclaimers**: Op. cit.

**A/N**: You guys are the best! I could, seriously, not be writing this without you. Your apt suggestions and corrections are what hopefully will improve this piece of fanfiction. THANK YOU, ALL!

_Persephone's Kiss_ suggested I drop the word 'incredibly'. Well, I don't believe I have used it ever since, so – done! She also suggested I drop the tirades on how beautiful Aithusa is – almost done! At least, I have limited it somewhat. :-)

_XAOTL Omega _wanted me to include more characterisation and personality in Aithusa, so I have tried implementing precisely that in this chapter. Please, tell me if I have succeeded. :-)

And please, continue your reviews: I _**am **_listening!

CHAPTER 4

**Getting wiser**

After having done selected chores for King Arthur, Merlin headed for his cot. Aithusa was not as tired as he would have liked, so he provided book on diction and pronunciation for her and assigned her some chores of her own in the lab that could sorely use a good scrub. Finally, he put a spell on the door that would make it close with a very noisy bang, should she feel like disobeying him and leave their chambers; and then the exhausted mentor fell into a deep, dreamless slumber. Meanwhile, Aithusa did her chores to the best of her ability – though Gaius might be slightly surprised and somewhat annoyed to find that those of his books that had been lying on the slab had had each page washed thoroughly. Eventually she sat down with the diction and pronunciation book and eagerly attempted to utter and pronounce the short sounds of the first chapter. After a few attempts, she proceeded to apply her experience to words she knew well in her thoughts: dragon, magic and Merlin. When she thought she had her dragonlord's name down to a tee, she went to his room, intent on presenting him with her new accomplishment. Yet when she got there, the sight of his sleeping form with his relaxed features and innocent and peaceful look made her reconsider and even feel drowsy herself. Reptiles did not sleep in close vicinity; mostly, they just tried to eat each other as soon as they came out of the egg, but she knew from studies that humans did. Another human trait she needed to try.

So the young, slim girl placed her body carefully on the cot, spooning her caretaker and wrapped her long arms round his shoulders. Merlin merely smacked his jaws, sighed and drew the blanket up to cover them both, never opening his eyes. The tactile sensation fascinated Aithusa; with the thin, human skin, touch was such a different sense from that of a dragon with scales.

_This is nice_, the dragon thought. _This is a good human habit_. She snuggled even nearer him, closed her eyes and very quickly fell asleep.

When Aithusa woke up, the spot beside her was empty and despite the blanket, she felt cold. A high pitched whistling came from the kitchen and the accompanying clanging and rustling sounds indicated that Merlin had started making supper. Her teeth instantly started watering, anticipating great lumps of meat or bones. The young girl quickly disengaged herself from the blanket and sheets and hastened to join her mentor in the kitchen. When she got there, Gaius was greeting her as well.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," the Court Physician said cheerfully, "I understand you have been stretching your legs .. that is, your wings a bit?"

She nodded, sporting one of her non-eerie smiles. "Daraaa … con," she emitted. The sound of her opening her mouth had both Merlin and Gaius dive for cover, but when no flames came their way, they tentatively approached her, step by step, big smiles from ear to ear.

"You said a word!" Merlin could barely contain himself, "a **real **word! Dragon!"

Gaius patted her on her shoulder, though not mentioning that this was perhaps not the best word to be practising, at least in public. Yet, he didn't have the heart to tell her as she happily stood by Merlin, continuously saying the word until it actually sounded like … dragon. And Merlin was beaming away and couldn't get enough of the word. There would be time to discuss the danger of certain words, he was sure; for now, let her bask in the triumph.

After supper, Merlin went to service the King and Gaius stayed behind with Aithusa. It started off peacefully enough, but as the evening passed, the old physician became more and more tired and eventually fell asleep in the chair, his head dropping and his mouth drooling. Aithusa looked at him for a while, her head cocked in curiosity, but quickly got bored and went to the window sill to look at the evening life of Camelot.

The Humans looked so small as they scurried along to prepare themselves for the night. At the far corner of the city square was a lit building from where odd squeals (could be singing, she surmised) could be heard; humans were going in and out; those who went in walked straight and those who came out, walked in a funny tilted way. Aithusa's curiosity grew. Her attention was caught by a figure that looked familiar as he crossed the square and quickly and noisily entered the building. When he turned in the door, she saw half of his face lit by the light coming from the entrance. She started in anticipation. It was the man she had seen earlier the same day: the charming rogue with dark hair and a smile that seemed to invite her.

The young dragon girl quickly and silently left the Court Physician's chambers. Gaius slept on peacefully, not having been so provident as to renew Merlin's spell on the door.

x

She spotted him quickly. The debonair man with the twinkling eyes sat in the middle of the room, a tankard of mead on his table and a wide grin on his lips. The place was full and lively, even though some of the guests fell taciturn by the sight of the young girl entering, some of them stepped out of her way almost in awe of her youth while others refused to budge just for the pleasure of her having to rub herself against them to get past. Gwaine didn't see her until she stood right in front of him.

"Bloody hell!" he said, his tankard almost tipping and some of the mead escaping. "Erm – what can I do for you, little lady?"

Aithusa looked at the vacant chair by the table and the knight nodded, "By all means," he murmured, his usual charming smile back in place. "And what's your name, then, little one?"

The young dragon formed an _a_ with her mouth and then a _u_; putting it together with consonants, she managed to squeeze out: "A … du .. za."

This almost made her target fall from his chair.

"Aithusa?" he asked in wonder. She nodded. "Then you're Merlin's ward. I'm Gwaine – one of the Knights of the Round Table and a friend of your mentor," he said, all debonair disappeared. "You shouldn't be here!"

She cocked her head, interested; some of his charm had disappeared and she wondered why that was.

"You've learned to speak?" Gwaine asked, putting the mead aside just to make sure that this vision was not the result of his habit.

She shook her head. Three words could not be called 'speaking'. To communicate this, she put up a couple of fingers and said "..ord-s." he nodded, understanding her perfectly.

"Still practising, eh? Well, don't you worry, my pretty one. You'll be proficient in no time. Your mentor is the best teacher there is."

"Mor … lin," she tried. He flashed her a warm smile that gave her a sizzling feeling in the chest.

"That's right – Merlin. You're clever already."

"Dra-con … lawd," she managed to say. The knight's smile vanished impressively fast.

"Ermm," he said, leaning over conspiratorially, "I'm sure you shouldn't say that word in public – impressive as it is."

She blinked at him, not comprehending. Gwaine suppressed a sigh. He should get her out of there as soon as possible. But not too hastily or it would attract too much attention, though it may already be too late. And what the blazes possessed the girl to say _dragonlord_?

Gwaine bestowed his most winning smile on his young table companion, "I think we should leave this place, Aithusa, and get you back where you belong. How about that?"

To his immense surprise, she shook her head vehemently, turned her head in the direction of his tankard and grabbed it before he had a chance to intervene.

"No-**no**!" he cried, reaching out, though it was already too late. Aithusa put the tankard to her lips and started drinking. Five seconds it took him to get the tankard out of her hands and away from her mouth; five seconds and still she had managed to down almost half of it. Oh, man, Merlin was going to kill him!

"That's really a bad idea," the knight said, "that strong mead at your age is always a bad idea."

Aithusa replied by ripping out a belch that put a coal burner to shame. Gwaine removed the mead all together and looked nervously at her.

"Well .. um … good. Now you have tried that. Can we get out of here?"

The dragon girl blinked her eyes placidly, feeling very, very docile all of a sudden. Then she giggled; a bell-like, crisp little sound that Gwaine found extremely attractive. He shook his head. This was Merlin's ward – very young and inexperienced virgin. What was he thinking? Gwaine got up and gently hoisted Aithusa out of the chair. She followed him willingly if a little shakily. Gwaine bit his lip. Was there any way he could sober this girl up before they returned to Merlin?

The guests of the tavern were looking very suspiciously at him as he gently led the young girl out of the place; her walk was less than straight and he needed to get her to some water very badly. The closest fountain was in the square right in front of the castle where he hoped to god Merlin was too busy to look out of a window. Yet, they didn't even get as far as the water before disaster struck. Under the influence of alcohol (or so he hoped), the young Aithusa suddenly pushed Gwaine into an alley and started snogging him completely unhinged. Her mouth was constantly and a little awkwardly in his face and her hands were everywhere! Once he had managed to remove one hand, another would make it to his chest or his buttocks. My goodness, what is going on? Looking nervously askance, the valiant knight tried to move to the side and into the shadows before somebody saw the more than painful scene.

And then, all of a sudden, her weight lifted and her busy hands disappeared and instead of her sweet golden head was a black one, sitting on someone considerably taller than himself.

_**Oh, crap!**_

Gwaine tried a goofy grin. "Hullo, Merlin. Done with today's chores?"

_WHACK!_

For the first time ever, Gwaine realised that Merlin was not pulling his punches. Such a skinny boy? Who would have known? The knight regained his balance, straightened and felt his jaw. Still there. Then he met the angry eyes of a very upset warden.

"What are you **doing**? She's so young, for chrissakes!"

"Ouch … Merlin. It's not what it looks like – honestly!"

Merlin waved a very agitated finger at him. "Did you know who she was?"

"Yeah … she said her name – and ever since, I have tried getting her out of there! Please, you've got to believe me!"

Merlin opened his mouth to yell some more at Gwaine when he suddenly froze. "Wait ... say again ... she said her name?"

Gwaine nodded, still massaging his sore jaw.

Fighting between a feeling of pride that Aithusa had managed yet another word and anger that Gwaine had been all over her, Merlin looked from one to the other. Eventually, his glance settled on the knight. "I **saw **you! You were all over her. You pig! Perhaps you should tell me what your intentions towards my ward are?"

"Hang on!" Gwaine cried, somewhat miffed, "I never touched her. She, however, virtually attacked me when we got out here, I..." then he noticed that Merlin's expression had gone from angry to despairingly.

"Stop – stop, Gwaine. I actually believe you. She's a little … wild like that."

A huge feeling of relief washed through Gwaine, who was half expecting his old friend to punch the other side of his jaw too. Well, why not – that would have provided him a certain balance in the pain.

Yet, the night was young, Gwaine realised, when Merlin noticed the girl's vacant eyes and how her body was gently pitching on her legs.

"Oh, **nice**!" Merlin cried, "what did you go get her drunk for?"

"Again – I did not! She grabbed that tankard and downed it before I had a chance to stop her!" Gwaine was already raising his hand to protect his chin. Merlin was leering at him, trying to figure out if he told the truth or not. Then he closed his eyes and seemed to disappear into himself for a moment and when he opened his eyes, they were soft the way Gwaine always had known his friend.

"All right. I believe you," he sighed, "I'll just … take her back to Gaius and have a serious talk with her."

"Don't be too hard on her," Gwaine said sympathetically, "after all – she's been through a lot."

Well, Merlin thought, for how long could they use that excuse? He hoped to god she would learn – soon.

As he and Aithusa walked/staggered away from there, he heard his friend call out to him one last time. As he turned round, he saw the knight catch up with him and heard him lower his voice discreetly as he said: "You should know one thing, Merlin."

"Yeah?"

"... she said another word, very distinctly, inside the tavern, and I'm not sure how many heard it."

The warlock felt a chill spread in his chest. "What was it?"

Gwaine leaned forward and lowered his voice even more.

"Dragonlord."

x

As Merlin led a hiccuping and zig-zagging Aithusa home with him, he thought about the vast implications of having an unleashed dragon living with him and Gaius in Camelot. She had said 'dragonlord'. Gwaine had not specified in what connection the word came up, but it didn't really matter. Any such word that had to do with magic could have dire consequences in a place where the merest magical hint could lead to a death penalty. Not only to him, but first and foremost to her. To Aithusa. Arthur had been understanding until now, but the second he thought magic was involved with Aithusa, that understanding would cease. Sensing his musings, he felt Aithusa's hand reach for his and a somewhat inebriated mind talking to him.

_Have I be hic haved badly?_

_Yes – but you were not to know._

_Well_... her answer came a little hesitatingly, _I did know that it was bad hup going after Gwaine_. Merlin looked at her in surprise. _And yet you did it anyway? _He felt her giggle girlishly. _Yes, he is … attractive_. Merlin was now staring at her in disbelief. _Aithusa, you really, really need to control those hormones of yours_. She pouted! She actually pouted. The sight was outlandish. _I don't see why I should. I am young and hic healthy and my reproductive organs are …_

_Thank you! That's more information than I care to have._

_Out of dehupcorum?_

_So much!_

She sighed. Audibly. Merlin noticed – so she had learned that too. In fact, it would seem that being drunk brought forth the human in her more than a sober state did.

_Being human is hard_, she projected and leaned more heavily on him, clearly not out of balance problems, but rather because she seemed to enjoy it. He patted her arm kindly.

_It is, my young friend_, he agreed, _it sure is_.

The odd couple continued their way back to the castle, the warlock steering the girl's walk and Aithusa chatting to him and herself, both projecting and tentatively pronouncing some words that echoed in the empty streets. One of them, unfortunately, _dragonlord_.

x

The night had been terrible for the young dragon, yet had taught her an important lesson: never ever overdo drinking and particularly not the mead that was in Gwaine's tankard. Wrapped up in a blanket and with Merlin's cool hand on her brow, Aithusa had become best friends with a bucket right next to the cot, repeating just about every meal she had had during the day. As much as Merlin suffered with her, he couldn't quite resist the temptation to remind her of the same lesson.

"So how are you, Aithusa?"

_I want to die_, came the prompt and pitiful reply as she leaned over and hurled again.

"How did you come to feel this way again?"

There was no answer, but Merlin swore than he was sent a particularly reptilian squint.

x

Gwaine turned in his cot for the umpteenth time that night. What kept him awake was not that he was drunk – after all, somebody else had emptied his tankard of mead this time. Instead, it was one particular word uttered by a sweet young girl who couldn't be more than 17. And she had done it while they were talking of Merlin.

Of course, he knew that Merlin was nothing of the sort – a dragonlord, that is – but Gwaine still couldn't make head or tail of the context. He rehashed the conversation again – and again.

"_Mor … lin," she had said._

"_That's right – Merlin. You're clever already," he had answered_

"_Dra-con … lawd," she had then said._

Had that been in connection with Merlin? Or had it been in connection with Gwaine's praise of her effort? Had she chosen a difficult word to show him how much she could pronounce? But then, where had she heard such a word? After all, the last dragon was long gone and the lord with it. Had Merlin been filling her in on the stories of Camelot? Why on earth would he then tell a young traumatised girl such a violently story that even included fire? Gwaine shook his head, not any closer to the truth than he had been before.

Eventually he did fall asleep, a restless slumber in which he kept seeing fire and pretty young girls.

x

The following days Aithusa's vocal abilities quickly increased. Merlin had talked to her about choosing her words in public with a great deal of care and from then on she focussed on less volatile terms. Her drunken episode also had the distinct advantage that she had become most adamant not to touch anything alcoholic. _Thank god for small favours_, Merlin thought; he felt as if he could breathe more freely. Once in a while during nights, they went to the forest where she transmogrified into her true form and made the air her playground. It was during such time that Merlin realised that she had never tried pronouncing words as a dragon, and it occurred to him that this skill was just as vital as being able to speak while in a human form. The young warlock sighed. It meant, obviously, that her playground would not stay completely lesson-free.

Feeling his anxiety, the white reptilian creature landed by him, causing the ground to shake gently. She stuck her head out, blinking those big, watery eyes. _What is it?_

"I'm sorry," he said, his face one of regret, "but we don't know how you are going to voice human words in your dragon form unless … you try it while we're here."

She smiled as far as a dragon can smile. _It is no problem – watch._

And right before his very eyes, he saw her morph back into a human and then immediately after her form had solidified, her head stretched and stretched and became … a dragon's head. A dragon's head with a human body. Merlin glared, his jaw unceremoniously on the ground. Then Aithusa opened a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and uttered, "Mor … lin."

A little smoke made it out of her pharynx, but based on prior experiences, she had tried very hard to quell the fire in her midriff.

"Excellent!" Merlin grinned, flashing his teeth in a wide smile. "Mind you, if you do that in Camelot, it should be under strict privacy. You do understand that, right? How quickly can you retract your dragon head?"

Merlin timed her; in exactly three seconds the reptilian head disappeared and was replaced by her streamlined human face. Merlin nodded. "You are a true wonder, Aithusa. I'm not sure that Camelot deserves you."

The human dragon cocked her head, bird-like and then smiled. And that's when Merlin with a start saw that her teeth were still sharp little dragon fangs.

Well, okay, then. Perhaps the method needed a little adjustment.

x

Three weeks later, Merlin felt confident enough to take Aithusa to King Arthur again. The King had begun to growl a bit at Merlin not being round all the the time, and the manservant hoped it would soon be time to cut his ward a little more slack. She had been behaving exemplary the past week, only eating prepared meat, ignoring passing pets, not throwing herself at knights or others to her liking and developing her spoken language with an impressive haste. More importantly, though, her social skills were coming along nicely as well; she had learned etiquette, colloquial expressions and which subjects to approach and which not to. Admittedly, Merlin and Gaius would still be surprised at some of the things she might mention when in company with humans. The knights, for instance, did not hide their surprise when one day she approached them to find out the best way to kill someone when using a man-made weapon. Most of the knights simply took her for a spirited girl, but Gwaine was uncharacteristically taciturn and looked at her with a certain amount of anxiety.

He had not, however, mentioned this to Arthur, who … albeit a little reticent … received the young girl in his quarters one day. The King sent her a welcoming, if a little stiff, smile, being very grateful that Merlin was standing right behind her with a very attentive expression.

However, this time it went well; Aithusa performed her courtesy admirably and though her speech was a little slurred and oddly pronounced, Arthur conversed with her, relaxed and with great relief. The King slapped Merlin on his shoulder on the way out.

"Out**stan**ding, Merlin," he said, "excellent job! I congratulate you - **now **will you return to full duties?"

"If I can take her with me?" Merlin suggested, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Eeerrm … perhaps not just yet. All right, you don't have to resume all duties right away."

Merlin grinned and closed the King's door after him, infinitely happy that the meeting had gone well this time.

x

That night, Merlin slept like a baby. Everything was going as it should and Aithusa was developing into this magnificent creature with a well rounded education, having learned both dragon and human ways. The heritage of the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, would be honoured and upheld and a new dawn for dragons would begin. He felt confident of that. In time, Aithusa would become the Great White dragon that, together with Merlin, would ensure the coming of Albion.

Little did he know that armies were gathering round Camelot's borders and that soon, Aithusa may not be able to leave Camelot any more. As he was snoring away, patrols and scouts had already seen the hordes and were on their way to the King with the intent of informing him. They would also tell him of the tall, woman with black clothes that seemed to be controlling the invasion.

And King Arthur would know exactly who that was.

xxx

Better? Pleeeease tell me. :-)


	6. Anger and Laughter

**Disclaimers**: BBCs! Not mine.

**A/N**: The p(l)ot thickens! Please, let me know good and bad! :-D

CHAPTER 5

**Anger and laughter**

More than once, by various philosophers and researchers, it has been emphasised that humour is a very difficult trait to both perform and define. A method as scientific as the theory of incongruity, which is the leading approach, has been attempted defined by historical figures such as Immanuel Kant and Søren Kierkegaard and perhaps as far back as Aristotle in his _Rhetoric_. Yet, it remains tentative at best. And so it could be no surprise that a young dragon, who not only was just learning to speak, but also learning to understand humans and to integrate our ways and customs in her personality, must have been overwhelmed by the mere sensation of bubbling mirth.

The turning point came to Aithusa a little earlier than she expected herself and once awakened, she found it difficult to control.

Gwen was visiting, showing the young ward how to mend clothes as one of the dresses had already had its seam ripped. Aithusa found the up and down motion of the needle intriguing, but Gwen chatted away of this and that and through some roundabout way they came to talk about characteristic traits and personal habits.

"You know," Gwen said, "it's amazing how articulate you have become; though, I have to say, you were very good at expressing your mind even before."

"What do you mean?" Aithusa asked, wincing as she pricked her finger for the twentieth time.

"Well, faces are like that, aren't they? Full of little quirks and movements and twitches that say more than a thousands words."

"Do you have an example?" the dragon asked, this particular request being a favourite of hers whenever she needed something elaborated.

Gwen smiled and leaned to her ear, lowering her voice. "Do you see Gaius?" she indicated the old man, who was busy in his laboratory, pouring vicious-looking liquid from one tube to the other , "he has that eyebrow, you know. Whenever there is something he doesn't understand or is sceptical towards, he cocks it. It almost disappears into his hairline."

Aithusa looked intently at the old physician. He had his back turned against the two women which made it impossible to see him en face. Pragmatic to the bone, therefore, Aithusa rose and went to him. Gwen gasped softly as she saw her approach Gaius in an almost stalking way. Sensing that someone was behind him, Gaius turned round and seeing Aithusa standing there so close, her eyes fixed on him, performed the inevitable exercise: He cocked his eyebrow.

Aithusa's own eyebrows went up, her mouth started quivering and before anyone could explain to Gaius what was going on, she bent over in uncontrollable mirth, gasping for air.

Gaius turned to look at Gwen, "What on earth is that about?"

As this was something he didn't understand, his eyebrow was well in place, doing its best to confirm Gwen's hypothesis, predictably Gwen broke down laughing as well.

"Gwen!" Gaius cried, reproachfully, "Kindly tell me what's going on."

"I … I can't," the chocolate brown woman gasped. Meanwhile, Aithusa had collapsed on the floor, holding her hands to her midriff and her face tomato red, apparently unable to stop laughing. Gwen ceased laughing, getting seriously concerned about the young girl and went to her with a glass of water.

"She laughs like one who has never tried it before," she murmured as she tried calming down the young girl a notch before she actually choked.

She and Gaius helped Aithusa back in her chair, but Gwen got the feeling that she had 'created a monster'. The rest of that particular day, Aithusa simply started sobbing with laughter every time she set eyes on Gaius, who, naturally, reacted by shoving up his eyebrow even more.

x

Another month went by and Aithusa became proficient in speaking with a human tongue as well as with a reptilian tongue. Her laughing fits had threatened her popularity there for a while (particularly as she couldn't stop laughing when she had seen Sir Leon slip in a puddle of mud and horse dung by the stables; she would simply point at him and laugh out loud every time she saw him several days after that), however, even this abated, and the poor knight learned to like her again. In addition, Aithusa had become keen on being liked; so much that when she sensed how Gwaine had been squinting at her since the day at the tavern, she took it upon herself to find out why. Thus, she cornered him near the kitchen where he – as usual – was trying to "help himself" to some food.

"Hello," she said when she saw him. He turned, surprised.

"Aithusa. Hi – hush, I'm trying to get some food."

She smiled at him.

"Would it not be simpler to ask for it?"

"Simpler … but not as entertaining," he grinned. She cocked her head, still applying this bird-like trait that had becoming her trademark.

"May I talk to you?"

Gwaine sighed inwardly. The food would have to wait.

"By all means, my pretty one."

He led her into the castle orchard and bade her sit on a bench, looking round him anxiously to see if Merlin suddenly turned up.

"You can sit beside me," she urged, tapping the spot next to her. "Eerm.." obviously he wasn't too keen on the idea. She smiled widely. "I am not going to attack you," she said, applying humour, to his huge surprise. The knight finally sat. "You have come a long way, Aithusa," he said, admiration audible in his voice, enhanced by a relaxed Gwaine-smile.

She nodded, "yes, I have learned about decorum," she said proudly, having finally learned how to pronounce the word.

"Well, then," Gwaine cleared his throat, "what do you want to talk about?"

She didn't beat about the bush. "You sometime look at me in a manner that indicates that you do not like or trust me."

Gwaine widened his eyes. Was it that obvious?

"Um …Oh, Aithusa, I do like you, .. and ... I wouldn't say I don't trust you ..."

"Then what?"

"Well … the last time we met, you said that word that could have got you – and Merlin – into trouble."

"What was that?"

"Dragonlord." Even now he whispered it intently as if it was a very bad word.

She blinked at him. "There," she said, "now you said it too."

"What?"

She got up. "Yes, I do not think less of you for that. And you should not think less of me." Gwaine was dumbfounded, unable to grasp the issue at hand; he looked at her in amazement: her eyes were actually flashing with something that looked like anger.

"No, you misunderstand," he said softly and a little desperately, "I was just worried about the risk that someone might overhear."

"You are lying," she said hotly, "you are worried that I may have magic."

Gwaine's mouth fell open. _Oh, god, she's right! That's what I was thinking. How else could she know that word? Where else would she have heard it?_ Yet before he could say another word, she was on her way out of the orchard, only turning one more time to deliver:

"You should not be so biased, Sir Gwaine. Nothing is necessarily what it seems."

And with those words, she turned on her heel, red cheeks and flashing eyes.

x

"You look angry," Merlin noticed, frowning; he had actually never seen her angry before.

"I **am **angry," she confirmed and blurted out hotly: "why is it that this place hates magic so? Why are we deemed less and even dangerous? Why must we live in hiding?"

Merlin looked at her in surprise, opened his mouth and then closed it again, unable to provide a reasonable answer. Instead he said, gently:

"Why don't you tell me what has happened?"

Later Merlin found Gwaine at the tavern. This time, the knight did not sit in the middle of the room, rather in the back, brooding into a particularly strong mead that, so far, was left uncharacteristically untouched.

Merlin sat down in front of his friend, who acknowledged him with a nod, but no smile.

For a while neither of them said a word, then Merlin leaned forward, and said with a little rueful smile: "Dining on ashes?"

Gwaine sighed, "She was right, you know."

Merlin didn't need to ask 'with what'. "How?"

"I did think ill of her," his voice was barely audible and he was squinting nervously at Merlin. He was being brutally honest here. Now, how would he react to that piece of information?

But Merlin looked down, "I can't really blame you. A young girl who comes from nowhere; she's not supposed to know a word like that – only people being old enough to know the old times or having been directly involved with the battle against the great dragon would know that, right?"

"Right," Gwaine sighed, relieved to the bone that Merlin understood.

"Wrong. You see, I was stupid enough to tell her where the scorch marks on Camelot's walls came from, and so I told her that she should not fear such a beast for the dragonlord would protect her."

Gwaine looked at Merlin with an open mouth. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "I didn't think of that."

Merlin shook his head. "Why would you? Anyway, I have reassured her that you are only looking out for us." And then he added with an evil grin while stroking his own chin suggestively, "So you should be safe for now."

Gwaine grinned back at him. "To think, Merlin – for one confused moment I even considered that the word could refer to you."

He saw his friend's eyes widen, then narrow and then his whole face light up in a huge grin.

Upon his return to Gaius' quarters, Merlin closed the door behind him and leaned on it, drawing a huge sigh of relief. That had been too close for comfort. Gwaine was not unintelligent and it was not unreasonable to expect that one more hint would make him guess the truth. He really needed to convey this to the young dragon.

Merlin found Aithusa moping in his room, still not satisfied with life.

"It should **not **be like that," she insisted, her eyes still full of spite.

"Should not, ought not – but it is," he lectured her, "I understand perfectly – believe me, after several years of working covert, I, if any, sympathise with how you feel," he went to her, leaned over her, emphasising his words like Gaius had so many years earlier when he had been the recalcitrant boy and Gaius the lecturing mentor, "but the fact remains: This kingdom is yet not ready to accept magic and until it is, we must hide it if we wish to live."

She bared her teeth that had gone pointy and sharp from her inner sizzling anger and hissed, "I am not afraid of **anyone**."

Merlin straightened, his tone of voice considerably firmer than before, "You should be! Because your rebellious attitude may very well cost lives. Take it from me – I have learned the hard way. I once ignored Gaius' warnings and shaped a horse from the smoke of a bonfire – and this recklessness nearly had Gaius killed! And I thwarted him when Julius came to our home and needed help to locate your egg – that nearly had **you **killed!"

Finally the angry look in her eyes disappeared as did her sharp teeth that morphed back into dull human teeth and she looked at him with curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

Merlin's shoulders fell. Oh, dear. Had he said too much? Or perhaps it was time for her to know how she had got into this world. "Well," he said softly, "get comfortable and I'll get us some hot soup [being ever the meat-lover, she preferred this for cocoa] and I'll tell you the story of your birth."

x

"How many, again?"

King Arthur looked at Agravaine in profound amazement. His uncle had just reported the number of soldiers at the borders to him, yet he refused to believe that Gudmund had been able to raise an army this substantial in such a short period of time.

"Ten thousand heads," Agravaine repeated silently. "Impossible," Arthur awed. "Where on earth did he find so many?"

Agravaine didn't provide the answer he already knew, but wouldn't divulge. Morgana had been instrumental in gathering the armies of just about all the surrounding kingdoms, even those that had once been Uther's old allies. A drop of potion was all she had needed.

"There is no way we can ever match that number," Arthur sighed. It took the young king about three seconds to get a grip and when he turned round he had all the bearings of a king that needs to appear strong to his council.

"If we do not match the number, we must outdo them in guile. Gather my Knights of the Round Table."

x

"But, Merlin," said Aithusa, "this is a paro..piro..pro.."

"Paradox," he helped.

"Yes, paradox. If you had not gone against Gaius, I would not have been born," she pointed out.

He smiled at her, "yeah, you would – eventually. Your egg was there, the tower was there. Gaius knew. It was just a question of time. My point is that I acted rashly and it could have cost you your life. It was dumb luck that your egg survived. No recalcitrance is worth that," he added, reaching out to stroke her cheek. She leaned her head into his hand, having become very fond of human touch, in particular Merlin's.

"I do not wish to wait," she sighed.

"I know. You are young. But one of the strengths of becoming older is patience. I have finally learned that."

"You have performed so many deeds. You should be acknowledged for it. You are, after all, the last _dragonlord_," the last word was uttered with pride. Merlin leaned over and kissed her brow.

"And I am proud to be **your **dragonlord. Our time will come, Aithusa. You are destined to be Camelot's white dragon that bodes well for the country. Kilgharrah said so and Kilgharrah was very wise."

Aithusa slept very little that night. Thoughts of her future and her and Merlin's destinies filled her mind and generated unbidden images of glory and adventure. Yes, she wanted to follow Merlin, serve him and help him create the greatest kingdom in the world, but she also wanted to be acknowledged for what she was – a dragon with powerful magic, in complete synch with her dragonlord.

Again, her face burned with the memory of Gwaine's discomfort at the mere mentioning of a dragonlord, but even worse was Merlin – her mentor – the last dragonlord's humility towards his own fate of staying hidden and never being seen for what he was.

_I swear! _ She thought, _I swear that I will show the world who you and I are. Everyone will know that a warlock has taken care of them for many years and will protect them forever. They will see your power and shiver in respect and you will have the acknowledgement that you deserve._

Satisfied with her vow, she finally managed to fall asleep, dreaming of Merlin on the balcony of the castle, waving at a cheering crowd.

x

The next day, Merlin noticed that Arthur and the knights had been locked in the conference hall and not left it all night. He frowned. This was most unexpected. Being wrapped up in dealings with his ward, the young sorcerer had lost connection, somewhat, with the dealings of the King and his knights. Now, however, he very quickly understood that something was terribly wrong.

"Arthur," he said in a low voice as he brought them all some fresh fruit, "what is going on?"

The King was leaning over a map and turned his head at the sound and sight of his manservant approaching.

"We're being threatened from all angles, Merlin. All the kingdoms surrounding us appear to have got the same idea at the same time: Attack Camelot."

Merlin stiffened. "Too much of a coincidence," he hissed. Arthur nodded and voiced what everybody thought: "Morgana."

Merlin looked up and eyed the knights, who were all nodding. "So what are you planning?"

Arthur shook his head. "Nothing to do with you, Merlin. We're talking quick raids in and out in small groups, weakening the enemy's structural integrity – without clumsy serving boys that would be killed in an instant."

"No, I wouldn't," Merlin said, affronted.

"Yes, you would," Arthur said, his voice serious and his eyes finally looking directly at Merlin.

"Please! I **must **be at your side," the King's manservant urged intently.

Arthur shook his head. "No need to fret. I'm not going on the raids. I'll stay here and coordinate and make sure Camelot still has a strong defence of the inner perimeter."

"Oh," Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.

And then the young warlock stiffened in the realisation that there would no longer be nightly excursions for Aithusa to go flying, there would not be any possibility for her to leave Camelot at all for a very long time.

They would, for intents and purposes, very soon be under siege.

x

"No flying?"

Merlin's heart almost broke in twaine. Aithusa's face was so crestfallen and disappointed that he almost felt tempted to let risk and danger be damned and take her out for a spin anyway. But he couldn't, of course. There would be enemy spies and scouts everywhere and the flight of one massive, white dragon, shining in the moonlight would be begging for attention.

"Camelot is about to be attacked by 10,000 men," he said silently.

"Oh," she said without a trace of anxiety. She still did not know what fear was. "You will fight them?" Her question was almost rhetorical.

"Not if I can avoid it."

"Hiding your skill, your immense power," she said, her voice unexpectedly bitter.

"For a good reason," Merlin argued.

Her cheeks burning again, she stomped out of the kitchen where they were standing and on the threshold to his room, she turned and said vehemently:

"You know, it occurs to me that if the King is such a marvel as you claim he is, he would have accepted his best friend to have magic long ago. Or can it be," she added, "that your faith in him is not nearly as unshakable as you would like others to believe?"

And with those words, she slammed the door tight and left a stunned Merlin to deal with the cabbage heads.

x

In the meantime, the first group of Camelot knights was sneaking their way into the eastern enemy camp where they put up booby traps as a nasty surprise for those who dared approach Camelot further. With the help of footmen, another was sent to dig a ten yards wide ditch between another enemy camp in the direction of the castle. Once done, they would cover it with branches and dirt to make it invisible for the careless foe that was too eager to attack. A third group released a particularly hungry and seriously stressed out pack of wolves into the camp site of sleeping enemy soldiers just as a fourth group performed sabotage against enemy armoury and catapults.

In the conference hall, Arthur let himself sleep for three hours after having mumbled a short prayer . These small attacks would serve to procrastinate the final attack and possibly reduce enemy numbers.

But basically, it would all end in the inevitable battle for Camelot that they stood absolutely no chance of winning.

xxx

**TBC**


	7. Fear

**Disclaimers**: All BBC's.

**A/N**: I am SO grateful for all your kind reviews! Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do without them. They help me continue the story and shape the plot. Lovely! THANK YOU!

Note on Gwaine behaving in the previous chapter: Well, I'm sure he'd have gone for it had it been anyone else but Merlin's supposedly 'traumatised' ward. ;)

CHAPTER 6

**Fear**

The sun shone red on the sky on the morning that King Arthur assembled his knights one last time, delegating assignments one last time and giving the necessary instructions one last time. Lazy sea gulls were seen as silhouettes against the orange sky as dawn shed its golden light on the land that surrounded the mighty castle of Camelot. The reports came in as the knights entered the great hall. Gwaine reported the second ditch completed, Percival confirmed that the wolves were feasting in their second camp and Leon had already seen how the booby traps had felled more than three hostile cohorts. Their King nodded, satisfied that his orders had been carried out. He looked at his men and concluded that they were, indeed, tired to the bone, despite their happy faces and stiff upper lips. Replacements would have to be sent out for the third round. The knights didn't agree with him.

"Sire," Elyan stressed, "we can do it all again. The apprehension will only fuel our tenacity."

Arthur smiled ruefully, "I have no doubt as to your stamina, Sir Elyan. However, I will need you with me to defend the last perimeter once the foe reach our inner city walls. I have already given the order to evacuate the people; they will be huddled in the cellar and will thus be the last to be found should the enemy succeed in seizing the castle."

"Camelot has never been taken by any enemy army, Your Highness," Leon stated, "and I do not see any reason why they should begin now."

"By any conventional hostile army," the King amended him gently, "but this is not a conventional army, as you well know, Sir Leon. This is Morgana's army and that means we are up against sorcery."

They all fell taciturn, some of them thinking what they dared not voice in front of the King, who had shown to be as vigilant as his father in term of sorcery: That the only thing that could save them now was … sorcery.

x

Unbeknownst of the danger approaching, Aithusa risen early and gone to Geoffrey's library. She had had very little sleep, still compliments to her angry musings about her and her mentor's hidden status as a magical beings and she was intent on finding some kind of solution in the ancient chronicles. History was important to Aithusa. Her own was defined by the dying embers of an almost extinct species and thus it felt the more important to her to cling to the old ways. Somewhere, in those old dusty books that she saw lined up on Geoffrey of Monmouth's endless and dusty shelves, she was sure she would find a way to convince King Arthur that he should trust in the power of magic. Having got to know humans, however, she knew it would also be important for her to understand his idiosyncrasy – Gwen and Merlin might help her with this.

But first: history!

While the young dragon had her head buried in one parchment after the other, Gaius and Merlin were called to the great hall where the King and the knights were still playing the most deadly version of chess known to Man: planning every counter attack and strategy they could muster. Yet every time someone had a good idea, it usually shipwrecked on the fact that their enemy had ... magic. Gaius easily understood the problem at hand and took it upon himself to voice what no one else dared.

"I sympathise, Sire," the old physician said, squinting at Merlin, "but the only way to really defeat magic is … as I am sure you have already perceived … magic."

Arthur beat a fist into the Round Table, making all the assembled swords dance on their blades.

"I do not accept that. I have fought magical beings before – and defeated them."

Gaius eyebrow shot up. "Indeed, Sire? Please remind me?"

"Well … the dragon, for one."

Gaius and Merlin exchanged glances, both knowing what really happened.

".. and Morgause's skeleton army that eventually collapsed in heaps of bones.."

Still, the two sorcerers kept their tongue.

"... and I got out of that cavern where Nimuë had intended for me to die..."

"I believe," Gaius said softly, "that a light was leading you out?"

"Well..."

"And that you yourself acknowledged that you could not have made it out without it?"

"Yeah … but I had no idea where that light came from!"

"I think, Sire, it is safe to say that someone helped you and that someone knew sorcery"

"What's your point?" Arthur growled, not happy that anyone spoke so freely of magic being the source of something good.

"My point is, Your Majesty," Gaius ventured, "that if you have called me here, it is to have my opinion whether or not we stand a chance to counteract Morgana's magic without applying magic ourselves."

Arthur opened his mouth, whether it was to protest or to confirm, Gaius never gave him a chance to prove, but continued: "My answer is this, Sire: That in some cases one might defeat magic by some odd chances, but in the case of Morgana, who has become quite powerful, I would call such a project … impossible."

This was clearly not what Arthur had hoped to hear. His shoulders slumped and his head dropped to a level in which he appeared to find the table exceedingly fascinating.

"I see," he murmured in a defeatist tone of voice.

x

Three hours. Three hours of concentrated reading and still Aithusa was none the closer to a resolution. She had been reading of Jormungand, the great sea serpent, who came at odds with the Norse god, Thor and ended up being tied round the earth, she had read about Saint George and the Dragon, the latter of whom had been reduced to a meek dog on a leash (which made her eyes flash red with wrath), she had read about ancient times when dragon and dragonlords basically ruled the earth and she had read about Kraken who remained a scurge of the seven seas. Of more modern literature, she had read of Nimuë and her death (what was known of it), written by Geoffrey himself and Vølven, the Iceland prophetess, who was revered among her people. The latter was perhaps the only clue to a possible approach to the problem. If one was to offer true predictions, one might be more readily accepted?

She sighed. This might be, but the time perspectives were not encouraging.

On second thought – perhaps one should emigrate to Iceland where magical creatures appeared to be held in high esteem? Aithusa immediately discarded the idea; if Merlin, her dragonlord, could endure for the benefit of the future, then so could she.

x

"We must do something!"

Having returned to the Court Physician's chambers together with Gaius, Merlin was back to his action hungry self as he simply could not accept that Camelot was about to be taken over by hostile forces. And for once Gaius was in accord with his preference of method.

"What do you suggest?"

"Booby traps and ditches are all very well, but the kind of trap and slowdown I can generate would be far more efficient than those of the knights."

"It's a dangerous game," Gaius cautioned him.

"No more so than for the knights," Merlin argued, "mud slides can be seen as natural phenomena and broken catapults as sloppy engineering."

"I agree, but if you're caught, yourself and all of Camelot will be doomed."

"Then I can't be caught," Merlin stated, applying some of Aithusa's logic.

"I feel tempted to quote Lancelot," Gaius reminded him, referring to the night before they took back Camelot from Morgause and her immortal army, "you may have magic, but you are not immortal, Merlin."

The young warlock was already packing his old, faithful satchel, obviously having made up his mind, "it is no different than the other times I have been working covert – through the last five years."

The old man put his hand over Merlin's busy ones in an attempt to have his undivided attention.

"But it is different, Merlin. This time the entire upland is crawling with enemies – and you have no one to guard your back as neither the knights nor Arthur will let you join the field groups."

Merlin averted his eyes and fell taciturn. He knew that, of course. Usually, on these capers, he would follow in the wake of either the knights or Arthur or even all of them. The challenge then would be performing magic without them noticing, but at least he could count on them to have his back. Now the challenge would be to work alone – with no one to second him – and still the enemy could not know who or what he was. Merlin frowned; in some ways Aithusa was right – revealing his magic would, in some cases, certainly be the best solution.

Yet … as long as King Arthur was diligently down on magic and magical beings, he simply could not see any other way and thus he resolutely grabbed the satchel and headed for the door, turning only once to place a request:

"Will you do me a favour, Gaius?"

"Anything," said the old man softly.

"If I don't come back, tell Aithusa what I was doing – and make sure she gets out of Camelot before anyone discovers her true identity."

"You need not ask," Gaius assured him and added, "but it will not be necessary – you will come back. You **must **come back."

The thin young man smiled wistfully and finally went out the door, closing it gently behind him.

When Aithusa later came back from the library, Gaius told her that her dragonlord was out on an errand for the King, and she immediately projected a greeting for him through the bond and got the desired reassurance back. All was well and he would be back presently.

It wasn't until supper time that she noticed that he hadn't returned yet and in a concerned voice, she asked Gaius: "Where could he have gone to? Surely a mere errand does not require so much time?"

Gaius did his best to smile disarmingly, suggesting that Arthur may have found another errand for his manservant, but this time the information was not enough for her. Sensing that something was wrong, she went to his room and contacted him again through the bond and this time she got … horror!

Aithusa opened her eyes with a gasp, intense fear rippling through her lithe long-limbed body. Her mentor was in grave danger; she did not know the details, but the impression she got through the bond was unequivocal. Merlin was in trouble!

Never wavering a second, she quickly grabbed a cape, left Merlin's room and sneaked out the front door when she saw Gaius turning his back to it. Closing the heavy oak silently behind her, she never wasted any time, but scooted down the hallway as quickly as her long legs would carry her. When she reached the end of the hallway, she felt momentarily disorientated, but soon found the door she was looking for and burst through it. Within minutes she had reached the roof through the east tower, climbing through the small arrow hatch, and making sure that no one was present or looking in her direction, she clamped her eyes shut, concentrated for a second, and when she opened them again, they had changed from human orbs to small, sharp eagle's eyes. She leaned out over the balustrade of the roof and efficiently scoured the surrounding buildings and landscape, her immensely sharp bird-of-prey eyes catching the slightest movement and details. Proficiently, she discarded one figure after the other until she had to conclude that Merlin already was out of her range of eagle vision. Decisively, she then mounted the balustrade, spread her arms/wings and fluently morphed into the rest of the eagle and took off at the same time. Wobbly at first, she felt how the air blew through her long wing and tail feathers until she figured out how to manipulate the wind instead of it manipulating her. Then she tilted her body and concentrated on looking down. It might take her some attempts, but she would find the direction in which Merlin had gone and then she would find him. Hopefully in time.

x

"**MERLIN!"**

The door trembled as the King tore it open when he made his dramatic entrance at the Court Physician's chambers; Gaius winced. He had often thought that it was a miracle that this old front door hadn't come off its hinges already, taken Merlin's particular work conditions into consideration.

Arthur, having no such considerations, put his hands on his hips.

"So where is he, the sorry excuse for a servant? I haven't seen him since the meeting in the great hall – and don't tell me that he's teaching Aithusa for I happen to know that she speaks absolutely excellently now."

Gaius looked at the King with both his eyebrows cocked, secretly glad that the dragongirl didn't see his expression or it would most certainly send her back into a fit of hysterical laughter. "I believe he felt that he was superfluous while you were in chambers, Sire."

"Is **that** so," Arthur cried, looking less than appeased, "well, he needs to come **now** – we could sorely use some food and drink for our field agents and that is **his** job. Where is he?".

"Eeerrrm," Gaius murmured, and then said viciously, "at the tavern, I believe, Sire."

His face redder than ever, Arthur turned on his heel, heading for the door, "is that right – when he comes back, tell him to impale himself on a spear and we'll roast _**him**_ over slow fire."

Gaius winced again as the door was shut with a magnificent bang which made the entire room tremble and the sound reverberate. He almost wished Aithusa was there to tell Arthur how to behave. Having absolutely no respect for the King, she wouldn't think twice about putting him into his place. And that's when Gaius noticed … he hadn't seen Aithusa come out of Merlin's room for a while and she hadn't reacted to Arthur's less than silent visit. What was she doing? The old physician hobbled over the three steps that led to the room.

x

The trees, woods and scrubs quickly passed by underneath her fast eagle flight; the air pushed up her wings and she balanced her body in accordance with the currents and temperature of the air and thus catapulted her feathery form forward in an amazing speed. She hadn't practised the eagle shape that much before, but found it easier as her flight progressed. Transforming into another species was easy. Working the body was hard. The concentration it took to adapt to another form was her emergency raft in handling the undiluted fear that still dominated her mind. The fear that Merlin was hurt. The fear that she might lose him. The mere thought took her breath away in a manner that she had not thought possible. How did humans managed these overwhelming emotions? She would have to ask him. When she found him.

As she soon discarded one direction and then chose another, she got a very precise image of what was happening below her. Cohorts of soldiers and groups of warriors were closing in on Camelot gradually, moving their camp one step at a time. Between steps, Aithusa noticed that the warriors in question looked oddly inactive and their eyes blank like they were clueless. And that's when she realised: they were under a spell. Obviously, it was not Merlin's spell, or she would have recognised his signature instantly. Instead, this particular sorcery reeked of a witch that Aithusa had not encountered before. Suffice it to say, she sensed, this was not a good witch. She would have to be careful, or this sorceress might possibly sense her presence.

It took her merely one more change of direction to identify Merlin's chosen route. As relief rushed through her, she dived sharply to hover right above the trees which gave her an ideal point of overview, feeling how close she was.

PAIN!

**SHARP PAIN!**

With a frightened squeak of a wounded animal, she suddenly tumbled through the air, out of control. Something had pierced her wing and thus abruptly halted her flight. On her way down through the leaves of the tree crowns, her feathers were ripped bloody and her chest almost impaled on the sharp twigs that stuck out from the outstretched branches.

The landing took her breath away – literally. The last branch broke the fall, but she was ricocheted towards a tree trunk which she hit with a dull thud that knocked her out cold. Rolling round was the last movement she made before her form became still. Dead still.

She was here! Merlin felt her ever so keenly. Here in the forest, very close to him and she was in need. The big, stinking and belligerent brute in front of him had risen again, armour clanging and legs far apart as he prepared himself to ram into his much smaller and frailer prey. The sorcerer sighed. He had already thumped this one several times in many several ways, but this guy just-wouldn't-stay-down. Now, however, Merlin was in a hurry and safety be damned. Aithusa was in trouble! Closing his eyes to prevent the ruffian to see the golden glint in his eyes, he inwardly performed a spell that took out the nearest tree by its roots and dropped it unceremoniously on top of the brute's thick skull. That did it. His assailant went down rather spectacularly, his limbs flailing pitifully. Wasting no more time on the now felled giant, Merlin sought the feeling he had had minutes earlier. The feeling of an airborne Aithusa in need.

It didn't take long for him to locate her. She lay, quite nearby, by the root of a beautiful old oak tree in the shape of an … eagle? Was this really her? Her beautiful eagle's feather all bloody and tousled, Merlin noticed something long and dark sticking out of her wing where it was attached to her body. An arrow! The lanky warlock stooped by her fallen form and gently pressed two finger to her neck right beneath the head. There appeared to be no life. With a quick jerk, he removed the fatal arrow from her wing, blood instantly trickling out of the wound at a faster rate than before. Then he put his warm hand on her chest bone and softly murmured an incantation. The formerly lifeless an shut eyes fluttered and Merlin felt the big bird's tiny heart beat, slowly at first and then faster. With a finger firmly pressed into her wound, he murmured a healing spell which allowed the wound to close and the veins to seal up. He exhaled, his blue eyes mellowing and colour returning to his face. That was a close one.

When he thought she was stabilising, he murmured "**ágénbewende andwlitan déofle" **and soon her human form began to shimmer into existence. Merlin nodded satisfied. As a human, she would stand a bigger chance of recovering faster.

Looking round him to ensure that no one was seeing him, Merlin bent down and took the young girl in his arms. She was absolutely naked, not having been able to bring clothes in her eagle form and he felt her shiver with cold already. When he reached the rather squashed ruffian, he ripped the body for usable clothes and wrapped his precious burden in whatever garments that were not too bloody. Then he lifted her up again and went in the direction of the fir wood where hiding would be easier than among the tall, thin beeches that had space to spare.

_What is she doing here?_

x

"Merlin is going to kill me slowly while he takes pleasure in my screams," the old physician mumbled, frustrated as he gazed into the empty room where Aithusa was supposed to have been. He shook his white head. In a short span of time he had managed to lose two persons who were as close to being his relatives as they come. Now, no one is allowed to be as sloppy as that, he decided. Gaius sighed loudly and grabbed his medkit bag. He was bound for his rounds anyway, so combining it with a search for the young dragon would probably be the wisest course of action he could do at the moment. And then hope that Merlin came home in time to sort it out if he was unsuccessful in determining her whereabouts.

_Young people_, the old man grumbled and slammed the door that still, miraculously, remained on its hinges.

Deep into the fir wood next to the steep, sheltering slope that constituted the bank of a brook, he put down his dragon girl and rested her towards his thigh. She still hadn't regained consciousness, but the slight flutter of her eyelids indicated that she was close. The warlock leaned towards the brook, cupped his hand and dipped it into the clear water. Then he let it dribble down her smooth brow and face, dabbing it gently on her lips and very soon she opened her eyes and looked at him, blinking in slight confusion. Then her eyes widened in happy recognition.

_Merlin_, she projected, her relief almost tangible, _you are safe._

_Of course_, he projected back, _why wouldn't I be? But it's more than can be said for you._

She opened her mouth and croaked, and he helped her to some water again. Her throat mellowed by the fresh water and she managed to utter spoken words, at last.

"I felt your distress. You were in danger."

He shook his head with a sad smile. "Oh, I am so sorry that I gave you that impression. I should have managed to control my emotions and projections better. I may have been distressed. Like I always am when I have to somehow use my powers covertly, but there was no danger to speak off. In fact, my assailant lies dead close to where you fell."

"What happened?"

"You were hit by an arrow. I have removed it and healed your injury."

She furrowed her forehead. "Why? I do not understand. Why would anyone shoot at an eagle?"

"Who knows? Humans do strange things and very rarely out of rational reasons. Maybe they were target practising, or maybe they thought you were ominous to the forthcoming battle."

She shivered, finally realising that she could not be secure in any form.

"I wanted to keep you safe ..."

Merlin stroked her glistening brow lovingly, "that is not your responsibility. It is mine, however, to keep you safe."

Then the warlock leaned forward and kissed her aquiline nose, tracing the ridge with his finger.

"I will take you home. If you have the strength, you should turn yourself into something small – a mouse, perhaps, and I will carry you in my pocket."

"What were you doing out here?" she asked weakly.

"Slowing down our enemies. I was on my way back, when the big brute jumped me."

Aithusa nodded, closed her eyes and concentrated hard for a while. With a sigh, her form dissolved itself into something considerably smaller that Merlin immediately scooped up and put in his pocket.

Merlin reached home safely, yet little did he know that his life was actually more in danger within the walls of Camelot than beyond. A fuming Arthur encountered him in the hallway. And the manservant was not allowed to go anywhere as the King hotly demanded to know where his serving boy had been.

Merlin looked askance, thinking, but came up with nil, except the usual: "In … the tavern."

"WHAT?" Arthur spat, "you have been in the tavern the entire day? During a time like this? Merlin – this has **got **to stop!"

The raucous woke up Aithusa, who had been fast asleep in Merlin's pocket, his motions rocking, and opted her to peek out, curious. Arthur opened his mouth, about to let Merlin have it when he saw the rodent.

"Merlin," he deadpanned, "there's a mouse sticking out of your pocket."

"Oh," Merlin exclaimed, swearing under his breath that they had woken up his dragon girl, "that is … my pet."

The King looked at him with dull eyes that understood absolutely nothing. "Sometimes, Merlin, " he murmured, his tone of voice genuinely concerned for once, "I worry about you."

"It is quite tame," Merlin said lamely, simply because he couldn't think of anything else to say. Arthur cocked both eyebrows and reached out a finger to stroke the mini beastie … who bit him emphatically and made the King retract his hand, waving it with a pitiful yelp.

"I want **you **in the great hall _**NOW **_– and leave your monster-"pet" outside!"

Merlin raced down the corridor to park Aithusa in his room, mumbling "that wasn't very nice."

_He wasn't very nice either_, came the miffed reply through the bond.

"He was entitled," her mentor opinioned, "after all, to his limited knowledge, I have been in the tavern all day."

Merlin had just time to hear a muffled 'humpfr' from his "pet" before he dumped her in his bed. Then, before he rushed out to join the King and his knights in the conference hall, he took time to say: "Now, you rest here – and I mean 'rest', before you change back into a human – and then you remain here. Is that understood?"

A sulking squeak came from his bed which he very much took as confirmation.

When Merlin finally made it to the great hall, Arthur and the knights were already planning the next counter strike and somebody shoved a bowl into his arms.

"Needs a refill," was the curt order.

For a second there, the young warlock felt the same intense surge of anger as his protégée had. He had powers they wouldn't believe, and they had him fetching pears? That was a serious miscalculation of his competences. He immediately simmered down; it had been like this for the past five years, and there was no reason why it should change now. The enemies were at the gates (though he had succeeded in delaying them somewhat), and King Arthur still perceived magic to be the great foe.

So Merlin, though with embers of a growing rebellion in his heart, went to get fruit for the starving knights and their king.

x

Coming home from his rounds, Gaius sighed deeply and tired, dumped his bag on the floor, disturbing several cockroaches and dust bunnies in the process. He had not been able to locate Merlin's ward on the way and he dreaded what might have happened to her. As one last possibility, he went to Merlin's chambers in the hope that she might have returned while he had been gone.

But the room was depressingly empty and Gaius let out a slightly whining sigh as he sat down on the cot that almost whined more loudly than he.

That is …

If it was the cot whining.

Actually … it had sounded more like a squeal.

The physician shifted his position and was rewarded by another squeal, followed by an incensed _**qut awf me!**_

Since when did cots speak or attempt speaking? Gaius jumped to his feet with unexpected speed.

"Aithusa," he called out, "is that you?"

Had Gaius been anyone else, except perhaps Merlin, he would have dropped dead from extreme agitation as he saw the blanket on Merlin's cot starting to float and the air underneath it grow. As it was, the ex-sorcerer was quite capable of guessing what caused this phenomenon to happen. He was thus not surprised when a young girl's head popped out from beneath the blanket and looked at him with blinking water-like eyes that shot angry flashes at him. Back to human, Aithusa found it easy to say:

"Placing that huge bottom of yours on people is **not **decorum!"

Gaius was not impressed with her emotional outlet. Instead, his eyebrow was activated and his arms crossed, as he said:

"Want to tell me where you have been?"

"Come on – I can be put to better use than this," Merlin said, surprising himself, but found that he just couldn't keep it in any longer. King Arthur and the knights stopped looking at the maps and turned to look at the manservant, eyes open wide and mouths half open. Then Arthur narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Merlin, if you **ever **go through a day without going to the tavern, I'll **consider** letting you polish my armour again, but until then ..."

"That's not fair ..." the warlock cried, about to divulge Gwaine's frequent visits at the same place when it occurred to him that Arthur might not know all the meady details about said knight. So instead he admitted:

"Okay, so I didn't go to the tavern."

"Riiight," Arthur smirked, "of course you didn't. Now, if you will just **shut up **and letthe knights and myself continue with this ..."

"It's true, though – I went to … spy on the enemy armies," Merlin spat.

"Naturally," Arthur nodded, his sarcastic grin well in place.

"**Listen **to me," Merlin urged, taking another step forward and plunging into a detailed description of their foe. Leon moved, with a surprised expression in his face.

"He's right, Sire … I recognise his descriptions. That is what it looks like out there."

They all, including the King, turned to look at the thin serving boy, now taciturn and with a bewildered expression in their eyes.

"If that is true," Arthur pointed out, "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

Merlin shrugged, "I thought you might get angry – after all, I was ignoring your orders."

Arthur stroked his chin, thoughtfully, "that's right – you were." A shiver went through the young sorcerer – one could tell that several means of punishment already were flashing through the King's mind; one, Merlin felt sure, was no doubt the stocks. Gwaine broke the silence and asked the relevant question:

"So what else did you see out there?"

xxx

**TBC**


	8. The Enemies at the Gates

**Disclaimers**: Not mine – no infringements intended.

**A/N**: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You people give me the best reviews. By that I don't mean just positive ones – I also mean that your constructive criticism is much needed and welcomed. To show my unending gratitude, I have been working hard on the next chapter to keep you happy. Now, brace yourselves for a bit of action ...

CHAPTER 7

**The enemy at the gates**

Merlin's field efforts and intel bought them one more day. Though having been performed by magic, his traps and sabotage had been mundane at best, broken catapults, deep ditches, sudden explosions of seemingly innocent-looking torches, causing an entire camp to burn to a crisp etc. All, which could quickly be mended by … magic. Morgana's hand in this was more evident than ever. By some searing irony, his intel appeared to be a greater help than his sabotage as the war council was now able to predict where the witch would set in an attack first and in what way. In addition, Merlin had been consulting Aithusa, who had had the advantage of seeing everything from above, about the units' movements and interaction that were in plain view to her on her former unfortunate excursion to help Merlin. Never divulging her involvement, of course, Merlin still forwarded her information to the great delight of both the somewhat surprised knights and a grumbling Arthur, who grudgingly admitted that Merlin being disobeying orders had been to their advantage.

"You could have got yourself killed," the King murmured, only just loud enough for his manservant to hear. Merlin smiled widely, leaned over and with a wicked sense of humour said: "Are you saying that you actually prefer me alive?"

"Of course, I prefer a live servant to a dead one," Arthur scoffed, "dead servants can't prepare my bath, can they?"

Merlin's smile widened even more, easily seeing through the King's bantering decoy. Some things were just not confessed openly.

The admission came when Arthur let Merlin stay on in the following battle debates. And somebody else went to refill the fruit bowls and sandwich plates.

They were at it the entire night. Estimates based on the intel Merlin had provided and later reports indicated that the enemy would be at the gates shortly before noon the following day. Arthur knew that Morgana's sense of strategy and tactics would be rooted in Uther's teachings and this gave them a much needed edge to be one step ahead. Most likely, she would begin by establishing a siege and wear out the defence of Camelot. Knowing the place intimately, its storage facilities and capabilities and its level and number of armouries, was definitely her advantage, and Arthur was working on a plan that would instil some level of surprise on her. Secretly, Merlin thought that the only thing that would take Morgana by surprise was the revealing of Emrys. And he hoped very much that would not be necessary.

_Or revealing the presence of the white dragon_, a well-known voice projected at him. Merlin almost jumped. Aithusa had been silent for quite a while, the last adventure having depleted her energy, but now, he realised, she had been listening in.

_Aithusa, you should not listen without permission_, he scolded her.

_Then you should not think so loudly, _she retorted, not without humour.

_Funny. Now back off and let us be for now. I will recount the important facts once I return_.

He felt her pout as she retracted. He actually couldn't blame her for wanting to know what was going on. He would most likely have done exactly the same. Merlin sighed inwardly; did Life always hit you in the back like that? He had witnessed Aithusa make almost all the moves that he had in his younger years – the same moves that Gaius had blamed him for, and now they were coming back to bite him in the …

Oh, well.

Merlin was as good as his word. Very early in the morning, everybody was allowed to go to their loved ones and offer their good byes and Merlin hastened to join Gaius and Aithusa in the Court Physician's chambers where both of them were already ripping up sheets for bandages.

"Well," Merlin's old mentor said, looking up when he heard the old battered door creak.

"The war council believe that a siege is under way round noon," Merlin informed, not beating about the bush, and put the kettle on. "Like Uther would do it," Gaius murmured. Merlin nodded curtly and Gaius recognised his mood. "But you don't believe that?"

"Morgana has changed," the young warlock said, "she has become bitter and shrewd. Not to mention the fact that whatever she learned from Uther never involved the factor of magic. She will have tricks up her sleeve that we have never seen from her before."

Gaius nodded. "You will have to be vigilant, then."

Merlin sighed, made tea and filled three cups. One he handed to Gaius, two he carried in his left hand and with the other touched Aithusa's arm lightly to beckon her to come with him. She instantly followed her dragonlord to his room where they both sat down on his cot, armed with hot tea. Aithusa sniffed hers gingerly like a wolf that has just encountered a carcass and is not too sure of the freshness of it; she had never really developed a liking for tea as it was a meat free drink.

"We have been granted one hour with our loved ones," Merlin said, while sipping his tea, his voice more serious than she had ever heard it before. Lowering the cup and holding it to warm his bony hands, he looked at it as if it were an object of profound fascination. Then finally he lifted his eyes to fix them at her. His dragon girl. Aithusa – his sun light – sat there beside him with her extraordinary beauty and transparent eyes. She had come so far in so little time. A forbidden line came to his mind. _They grow up so quickly_. Had he really come to see her as his daughter? What would that do to him when she finally left?

Merlin got a grip. Human form or not, the creature next to him was – and always would be by nature and mind – a dragon. The warlock put down his cup and took both her hands in both of his.

"Whatever happens today," he said gently, "I want you always to remember that you are the noblest of creatures. You have grown so much and I see Kilgharrah so clearly in you that it almost pains my heart. For I miss him dearly. However, even more clearly, I see a young dragon with appetite for life, a good and proud heart and a courageous and keen mind."

Merlin paused to see what effect his words had on her; so far, she simply blinked placidly.

"Listen, if I should fall today, I want you … no, I **beg **of you, do not seek revenge for me. You are above revenge – remember that."

She spoke for the first time since they entered the room. "Then what do you want me to do?"

Merlin's face lost some of its strenuous expression, his features mellowing. "I want you to seek out your own fortune. You have a life, Aithusa. I know that I – and Kilgharrah – have talked about your destiny, but you are an individual entity and if you wish for another life than that of protecting Camelot, so be it. It is your decision."

The young girl smirked and cocked an eyebrow in the best Gaius-imitation Merlin had ever seen. He was not surprised … she had learned from the best.

"Like you have taken your life into **your **own hand and let destiny be damned?"

Merlin smiled at her, put his hand on her slim shoulder and pushed at her playfully. "As you very well know, I have not." Then his smile fell. "I just want you to realise that there is a choice, Aithusa. Whatever I or Kilgharrah have said. **You **choose!"

The dragon smiled, relaxed, leaned forward and placed a feather soft kiss on her mentor's cheek.

"I will not forget," she whispered and then retracted.

x

Merlin found Gaius in the process of measuring salt water for wound cleaning. Carefully dividing the fluid into smaller containers made it easier to keep track of how much they had and kept it more hygienic. The old man looked up at the sound of Merlin approaching. "How is she taking it?" he asked softly. Merlin frowned. "Really well. Too well."

"Perhaps, in the face of this crisis, she is forced to grow. Dragons develop a lot faster than men."

Merlin nodded, his eyes turned downwards, still pondering. "Well," he said, lifting his gaze, "I suppose you will, as usual, be at camp hospital?"

"Yes, and Gwen with me. I hope I can persuade Aithusa to join us too."

Merlin nodded, "It would be best. I will be, as usual, at the King's side, helping him and the knights to the best of my ability."

"Which is not unsubstantial," Gaius smiled encouragingly. Merlin didn't smile back.

"Gaius, this is a bad one."

"We have seen worse," the physician said, though not meeting his young friend's eyes.

"No, we haven't. You should see the vast army that Morgana has gathered. They are, of course, under some kind of spell, which I, incidentally, tried to break when I was out there in the field, but I failed miserably."

Gaius finally met Merlin's eyes. "If the soldiers are under a spell, only a counter spell can break the enchantment. Since you don't know the spell ..."

"That is, however, not entirely true, is it?"

"What is?"

"That that is the only way."

"You mean ..."

"Kill Morgana."

Gaius didn't comment on that. The demise of the witch was a delicate matter. Every since Merlin had tried to poison her, he had avoided killing her by all means possible. Even when she was at his mercy, he still hesitated to deliver her the coup-de-grâce. He grimaced inwardly. SO many lives could have been spared, had he had the stomach to do what was needed. Gaius' voice seemed to come from afar.

"Stop tormenting yourself, Merlin. You didn't kill her because your ethics forbade you to do it. Until it happens by accident or it is a matter of life or death directly, you will always hesitate to kill her." The old man let salt water be salt water and went to his troubled ward, putting a hand on his skinny shoulder.

"It is part of who you are and one of the reasons why you haven't become corrupted by your great powers. Trust in your instincts, they are sound."

Finally Merlin sighed. He knew that Gaius was right, but it didn't make it any easier. His "delicate" ethics were the cause of several deaths. Now, how could one live with that?

x

When Merlin re-entered the great hall and went to the Round Table, he saw his own expression mirrored in the faces of all the knights. One hour to say good bye to one's loved ones would never be enough. A lifetime would never be enough.

Last to enter the room and appropriately so, was the King. His long strides brought him to the Table in less than five steps and in one fluent movement, he removed his sword and slowly placed it side by side with those of his knights, the points almost touching at the centre of the surface. The Round Table was complete.

"Have you given your orders to the leaders of your respective groups?"

A unison 'aye' reverberated the room.

"Then there is nothing to keep you from standing with me personally. We will keep this hall as headquarters. I have already instructed the messengers to seek us out here when the leaders have news to convey. I expect the first reports to tick in in ten minutes."

King Arthur had only just said this when the door was flung open and a dispatch was promptly delivered to him.

"Make that ten seconds," Sir Elyan said with a crooked grin that lightened the overall mood of the room. Arthur answered by popping his eyebrows. Then he rolled the message into a tube and turned to his knights.

"Gentlemen. The enemy are at the gates."

x

Shortly after that fatal first report, they all rushed through the French doors to the balcony where they immediately identified tell-tale signs that the battle of Camelot had, indeed, begun. To the east, smoke and clamour were clearly visible and audible against the dusty sky and through the streets of the inner city, they saw Camelot soldiers run like the wind to support the forces that had been attacked at the gates. Arthur stretched to see if he could spot Lord Agravaine, whom he had ordered to coordinate the various combat groups, but could see no sign of him. It didn't worry him too much. No doubt, he would be at the exact spot where he was needed.

"What are you looking for?" Merlin's voice was quite close to him, but in some odd way, expected, which is why the King didn't jump. "My uncle," Arthur murmured. Merlin said nothing. Agravaine was a factor he hadn't known how to prepare for. Indubitably, the treacherous brother of Igraine would try to contact Morgana or even do his own sabotage, but Merlin had not known how to predict his actions and had, instead, ended up counting on his own ability to improvise – as always.

x

One bleeding minute! One minute it had taken him to stitch up the wound of one of the guards that had been too close to the besieged gates for comfort. One minute it had taken the young dragon girl to evade his attention and sneak out of the camp hospital. Gaius sighed, knowing full well where she would be headed. Where Merlin was! Obviously, even Merlin underestimated how keen Aithusa was to be close to him, now more than ever. Under all circumstances, he had certainly underestimated Gaius' ability to keep track of her. The old physician swore under his breath and turned his attention to the next injured person. There really wasn't anything else he could do.

It was wrong. It was wrong that she should be away from him when he needed her the most. Certainly, they could use another hand at the hospital, but where would Camelot be if Merlin went down? And who better to have his back and protect the dragonlord than his dragon? With decisive steps, the tall, lithe figure strode down the hallway, her keen ears already picking up the sounds of war turmoil from the gates where she guessed the primary battle was going on. This meant that the enemy was upon them and soon would be eye to eye with the ruler of Camelot – and his manservant. Aithusa clenched her teeth, keeping her emotions from travelling through the bond. She knew exactly what he would order her to do if he felt she was on her way.

As it was, Merlin was busy. Arthur, the Knights and himself had retreated to the Table and were discussing the situation.

"Morgana will no doubt have more gateways than the main street. She was taught by Morgause and her sister had a tendency to force her enemy to fight on two fronts," Merlin pointed out. Arthur nodded.

"The skeleton army that Morgana raised. And we know that she has at least one spy in Camelot, we just don't know who."

_Yes, we do_, Merlin thought, looking down, but the King's blind faith in his uncle made it impossible to warn him. When the young warlock looked up, he met Gwaine's chocolate brown eyes. He, too, was uncertain of Agravaine, compliments to his involvement getting back Gaius when he was abducted.

"Does that mean," Percival asked, "that we can expect magic to appear somewhere in the castle?"

The King nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. We don't know where or when, so we will have to keep an eye out for anything that might look like it has been conjured by magic."

Merlin winced inwardly. This could result in a massive amount of false alarms. If only, Arthur would entrust **him **to …

… oh, no!

Aithusa had arrived. Merlin sensed her presence right outside the door.

Merlin never had time to worry further about Aithusa's appearance. At that precise moment, the situation developed hastily and chaotically. The door opened and instead of letting in Aithusa, as Merlin had expected, a messenger rushed in with the latest bulletin, which was oral, to the point … and simple:

"They're here, Sire!"

No elaboration was necessary. They all ran to the balcony and didn't even need to lean over the balustrade.

Hostile forces were storming the inner walls at an alarming rate.

x

A cool hand sought his warm one and Merlin gave it a short reassuring squeeze. Here, at what appeared to be the last day on earth, he was grateful that she was by his side. She deepened the bond by intertwining her fingers with his. Another human behavioural detail she had picked up. She had come so far, Merlin pondered for perhaps the third time that day. And he'd be damned if it would all be in vain.

Turning to Arthur, the warlock said firmly.

"Sire, we cannot let her take this castle. We must do whatever it takes to bring her down, even if it means applying ..."

That was as far as he got. Both he and Arthur whipped their heads sideways as a loud and authoritative voice thundered boomingly through the air in an ominous and unnatural manner.

"**ARTHUR PENDRAGON. YOUR TIME IS OVER. SURRENDER TO ME AND I WILL SHOW YOUR PEOPLE CLEMENCY."**

She was tall, dark, beautiful and terrible. Her black, torn gown was flowing in the frisky wind, her eyes were eerily calm and her mouth carved in stone. As she stood in front of her army that all obeyed her as one, she gave the impression of one that would not be moved. She had the power and no one could challenge her.

King Arthur's eyes steeled, a peculiar calm took over his body and he stepped forward with a straight back and a proud countenance.

"**MORGANA**. **Neither my people nor I will bow to you. I will protect the land and them till the last drop of my blood. Surrender now before we wipe you off the face of this earth."**

They all saw her smirk, like she was hoping for the reply she got. And that's when a silent sign from Percival made a swarm of black crossbow arrows rain down on Morgana and her people.

Merlin felt Aithusa squeeze his hand harder as she saw many foes collapse with one or more arrows embedded in their bodies. Only one was not affected by the arrows that hit her: Morgana. Merlin recognised the shimmer of a magical shield and knew then that they wouldn't bring her down like that.

Another swarm of arrows were shot, but this time Morgana raised her hand and with one wave blocked the path of the arrows, turned them round and send them back. Having foreseen her move, Merlin closed his eyes, projected a short spell and brought all the arrows to tumble through the air, connecting with the pavement, harmlessly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the witch look round her in confusion. Having seen what how the flight of the arrows had been averted, she no doubt feared that Emrys was there.

As she didn't spot him, she, instead, concentrated on the balcony where Arthur and the knights stood valiantly in plain view, bellowing orders to their troops, defying her very existence. The presence of one figure in particular seemed to scorn her. She felt the rage build inside of her. There! There was Merlin, the insolent, treacherous manservant, who had always been a thorn in her eyes. Well … time to take out that particular thorn.

With a toe curling scream, she swung her arm and a ball of fire was catapulted from her fingers and right into the chest of the unsuspecting thin, young man, who fell backwards, hitting the castle wall hard and sliding down with a smoking hole in his tunic. A high pitched scream came from somewhere. Could have been Gwen, Morgana thought and discarded it as unimportant. What mattered was … she was finally rid of Merlin.

Merlin never heard Aithusa's high-pitched scream. He saw only darkness and felt himself disappear into another realm as he lost consciousness. The young dragon girl threw herself beside him, desperately and with violently shaking hands, trying to check for his pulse the way Gaius had taught her. But she felt nothing; Merlin was still, cold and not breathing. Tears of frustration and panic rose to her eyes and tickled unhindered down her young cheeks as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him in a frantic attempt to jerk him back to life. There was no reaction. Arthur stood quite nearby. He had seen Merlin go down, and in the middle of feeling a shock to his heart, shortly wondered why Morgana had targeted him so consistently, then ordered Gwaine to tend to his unfortunate friend. When the usually so jovial knight knelt by the pale boy's side with a fearful expression on his face, he saw Aithusa place a small, long hand on the manservant's chest and close her eyes. Gwaine ripped off the gauntlet of his right hand and pressed two fingers into Merlin's thigh. This was the most reliable place to check a man's pulse and he felt … a small flutter of something. _He's on the verge of slipping away_, he thought in a panic. Then all of a sudden, in the corner of his eye, he discovered that Merlin's young ward had climbed the balustrade. She stood tall, her golden white hair flowing in the wind and her dress whipping round her legs. Startled, he rose to reach out for her when she suddenly spoke in a voice much louder and firmer than anyone would have expected in a girl so fragile looking.

"**WITCH! YOU HAVE HURT ONE OF MY KIN. NOW KNOW MY WRATH."**

No less than seven pairs of hands reached out to haul the young girl back to safety, but it was too late. She had jumped from the edge.

xxx

Ooooh – sorry about that cliffie – just couldn't resist it. ;)

A/N – it's true about the pulse in the thigh. And based on my own experiences from the Homeguard, the war ministrations described in this chapter are rather up-to-date (have no idea what they usually did back then).


	9. Fury

**Disclaimers**: BBC's – certainly not mine.

**A/N**: LOL … I sensed a certain impatience in your latest reviews. Thank you, all! Not unappropriately, I feel that your responses are the wind beneath my writing wings – be it leathery or feathery. Anyway, I'd like to address some of the comments:

_Unnamed reviewer_: If you wish to know exactly when one is updating, log on and select 'story alert'. That way you won't have to refresh all the time. ;)

_Frederik_: I don't agree with you that Søren Kierkegaard is not known outside Denmark. I once dated an Oregonian who wouldn't stop talking about the Danish philosopher. As philosophy goes, he is supposed to be the top of the pop – in any country. Other than that, yeah, you're right – I am Danish. Click on my profile and you will find an activated nationality tag, symbolised by the national flag (in this case: Dannebrog).

Anyway, to all of you: In case you have wondered about my somewhat awkward linguistics, there's your explanation above. ;)

'Nough said – we're almost done with the story. Read and hopefully enjoy.

CHAPTER 8

**Fury**

Already when she had been standing on the balustrade, Aithusa's sizzling arms had begun transforming into a dragon's leathery wings. And by the time she had pushed off of the edge and was airborne, they were fully capable of supporting her weight. Once in the air, the rest of her body turned into what she really was: the White Dragon of Tomorrow's Light. Her reptilian heart that had been groomed by human emotions for several months now, was swelling with uncontrollable rage, literally fuelling the fire within her. The black witch in front of her had attacked her dragonlord, and he now lay injured behind her. She had done what she could for him, the rest was up to his strength – now remained to make sure that this witch would never, ever again harm him. Aithusa was so furious and so focussed on her opponent that she didn't even notice how a deadly silence had fallen on the entire city, its invading enemies included.

King Arthur and his knights, who had done their best to rescue the girl from what they surmised would be certain death, stood taciturn, the spectacle before them not really registering in their already overloaded brains. Some way, some how, Merlin's young ward had morphed into a huge dragon, sleek and tall, white and shining. Gwaine felt flummoxed, though somewhere at the back of his mind, he understood that he had just had his initial concern about her verified, whereas the King shook his head in deep disbelief. This **had **to be Morgana's sorcery! At least, that's what he thought right up until the dragon suddenly back flipped her wings to perform a steep brake, opened her mouth and spewed an impressive torch of mortal fire on Morgana and the hostile forces. A bad memory reinvoked from the days of the Great Dragon's attack on Camelot ripped Arthur out of his reverie. As on reflex and impulse, he roared an order to the archers, who instantly shot off a shower of arrows towards the white dragon.

In the centre of the town square, Morgana had just had time to erect a magic shield before the torch came down on her. First, she hadn't understood what was going on. She had no idea who the young passionate girl on the balustrade was and she paid no particular heed to her words. Then the transmogrification, which made even less sense, except she knew that she needed to shield herself – fast. The shield held, but when the witch saw the arrows sail through the air, she instantly waved a magic counter attack that made most of the arrows fall to the ground. Too late, she realised that the arrows had been targeted on the dragon, which further added to her consternation.

The dragon itself turned elegantly and deftly in the air as she felt the sharp little arrows prickle her natural reptilian armour like annoying mosquito bites. They could do her no harm, but she found them rather distracting and the intent and purpose of them per se were down right insulting. Aithusa eyed the group on the balcony and said out loud:

"Do you mind? I am on **your** side, dollopheads!"

Arthur's eyes widened in shock when he heard her speak and in particular say the infamous word. Though not really wiser than before, he did recognise one important fact: That this creature, in some way or form, had something to do with Merlin.

Exactly what this meant, the King couldn't begin to fathom. For starters, he gave the order to spare the dragon and then the rest would be sorted out later, he decided, dazed.

Beneath Aithusa's mighty wings that were whipping up the wind almost to a storm, Morgana struggled to withhold her shield that took one fiery brunt after the other as the dragon didn't seem to have a mind to stop spewing fire ever again. In a desperate and a rather direct attempt to know more about her raging adversary, the witch cried: "**What are you? Who are you?**"

_**I am your nemesis**_, Aithusa, still feeling the fury burn inside of her, projected at the witch, whose eyes conveyed boundless fear upon hearing the voice in her mind. _Is this Emrys? No, it can't be_, Morgana thought, panicking.

From the depths of oblivion and the edge of the abyss, Merlin Emrys heeded the flutter of his heart and started resurfacing. He had felt the soft, powerful hand on his chest and had heard the silent, but urging command to come back to life. Voices from the past had beckoned him to the other side: his father's rich baritone tones had reverberated in his soul and Freya's sweet hum had made his heart sing, but one voice took precedence over them all. Aithusa. She was here, on this side, glimmering like a white beacon. And she needed his help.

As the warlock concentrated to return, he sensed another danger approaching. Someone with a dark purpose was preparing a vicious and treacherous attack from behind. He had to wake up – he had to open his eyes, he had to …

… and finally Gwaine could let out his abated breath and emit a sigh of relief as his friend's eyes popped open with amazing force and the colour returned to his skin. Underneath Gwaine's hand, the manservant's strong heart beat steadily and forcefully. Then the knight frowned. There was something odd about his eyes. They were not of the right colour... in fact, they were … golden!

In an inhuman effort and a power he had to summon from his deepest reserves, Merlin pushed himself up, grabbed Gwaine's arm for support and balance, turned round in one motion and roared, his voice oddly deep, feral and guttural like a predator. The sound was so unexpected that the King and his knights turned round to stare into the hall behind them. Arthur hissed and the knights raised their swords.

Behind them stood Arthur's uncle, the Lord Agravaine, flanked by about 30 enemy soldiers with drawn weapons, glinting perilously in the midday sun that streamed through the large windows in the great hall. And the soldiers stood **behind **Agravaine – not in front of him. Clearly, he was leading them, his own sword raised to strike … only few inches from the King's head.

Agravaine's bewildered eyes met the shocked glance of Arthur, who jerked backwards at the sight. There was no way he could explain this one away. Something or someone had frozen the Lord and the enemy soldiers and they stood like solidified statues, their intents clear for all to see in a stunned state.

"Uncle..." Arthur finally emitted softly.

Being frozen, Agravaine could only blink in response.

Gwaine squeezed Merlin's shoulder. The young man was leaning heavily on him, still very, very weak. "Merlin … is this your doing?", he asked in a low voice, remembering the golden flash in his friend's eyes.

Merlin found that it was hard to talk, his recent ordeal leaving him scant of breath. "I … felt … him … sneak in from behind," he managed.

Arthur turned his head and looked at his manservant. He saw the lanky frame stand on unsteady, gangly legs, panting. Together with the fact that his ward was obviously roasting their foes to a barbecue crisp behind them, the world, as it was, made less and less sense to the blonde King. Merlin shook his head gingerly as if to collect his thoughts. "I have to … help Aithusa," he said. Explaining to the King and the knights would have to wait. There was still a war going on. Then he turned, still clutching Gwaine's arm and chain mail, and approached the balustrade.

She was magnificent! Merlin's heart swelled with pride as he saw her elegant dragon form fly back and forth while she emitted one torch after the other. Morgana was still down on her knees, only just managing to uphold her shield, but she was not hurt. The shield was firmly in place, and Merlin realised he could turn that to his advantage. The warlock closed his eyes and projected: _Aithusa. All is well. I am here. Stop spewing fire and stand down._

Initially, the feeling of her immense relief as to his revival. Then spite.

_**NO! She almost killed you! I will not let her go!**_

_Aithusa. Do not make me use the old tongue!_

The old tongue meant business, she knew that. It was the dragonlord's final measure to command all dragons. Still raging inside, her fury insatiable, she flew to the south tower and landed there with her strong claws clutching the tower roof, waiting for Merlin to make the next move.

Then Merlin drew himself up and shot out his hand to point at the cowering witch. Murmuring a short incantation, he felt how her force field bowed to his will and mercy. Her shield had now become her cage. Morgana whipped open her eyes; they had been firmly closed all through the encounter with the dragon, but now she felt the control of the shield ripped out of her mind and with an icy feeling in her heart, she identified the most hated signature of this magic performance. _Emrys_.

What she saw, however, made no sense at all. Instead of the figure of the old, withered man, she saw the annoying serving boy, who was supposed to be DEAD!

"_**You**_," she breathed, vile in her voice and boundless hatred in her eyes.

"Me," was all he answered.

Arthur, having discarded his uncle and the assassins to stay where they were (they might as well as it seemed no one could budge them. Elyan had tried poking them with a finger, but they remained absolutely immovable and unresponsive, frozen in time and space), turned his attention to the situation outside again. Most of the hostile units appeared to have been defeated by the dragon and Morgana was crouched in a peculiarly strained position. In addition, he found Merlin standing by the balustrade, hand outreached and a very concentrated expression on his face. He approached him. "Merlin what are you doing?"

It was Gwaine, who hushed him. "Can't you see that he's busy?"

"Busy doing what?" Arthur asked, out of his wits with confusion.

"Saving us, Princess," Gwaine said, nodded, indicating Morgana and her forces.

Arthur looked from Merlin to Morgana and back again. This was something he simply could not wrap his mind round.

"It doesn't make sense," Morgana rasped, voicing her brother's concerns, "you are but a serving boy!"

"And you are but a petty and bitter, evil woman," Merlin retorted.

"Where is Emrys? I will speak only to him" she snarled.

Merlin hesitated. Well, the proverbial cat (and the dragon) was out of the bag, good and proper. The rest didn't matter.

"Sorry, Morgana – can't turn into Emrys right now. I'm busy taking you down."

She blinked, her glance turning child like and imploring for one second. Then her expression hardened and the bitterness once again dominated and marred her face.

"It can't be – it can't be – IT CAN'T BE!" she screamed.

He felt how she struggled against the borders of the shield and knew that he'd better make it short as his own powers were strenuous to uphold, given his physical state. With one last and huge effort, he conjured up a transport power bolt that lifted up the witch to hover in front of him. Fixing his eyes directly on her face, he mumbled a spell under his breath that rendered her unconscious. Then he brought her to the balcony where he slumped her limp body at Arthur's feet. Using the last of his resources to keep himself upright, he turned to his king and master and said: "Here is your enemy, oh Sire. She is yours to do with as you wish. I have rendered her unconscious, a state that will last at least 24 hours. I ask that you do not hunt down Aithusa, but let her leave in peace and freedom and that you show myself clemency; but ultimately, our fate will be in your hands."

And then he collapsed on the floor.

x

Hearing was the first sense to return. He did notice, however, that the sounds were somewhat muffled and hard to make out. Once they were distinct and recognisable, his vision came back too, though the contours were blurred and and the contents misty Tactile sensation felt as if it had been there all the time – unfortunately – as his body still felt battered and aching all over.

Merlin didn't really want to come to. The blissful oblivion that had held him for some time was fading fast and he found that he missed it already. How long had it been since he had had the luxury of really letting go and let himself be engulfed in the soft, safe embrace of limbo? Years! Then responsibilities woke in him and he remembered the name of someone he really had to take care of and keep close to his heart.

"Aithusa?" he rasped.

"I am here," he heard her sweet voice say and finally he blessed his tactile sense as she took his hand and very softly squeezed it in affection and sympathy.

"An angel just touched me. I must be in Heaven. Has Arthur killed us?" he half joked – and then jerked when he heard a very familiar voice say: "Can't just yet. I need you to take care of Morgana when she comes out of that stupor you put her in."

Merlin sighed audibly. The King was there. And he just hadn't the energy to face him.

A face loomed into his range of vision. Gaius! A sight for sore eyes.

"Lie still, Merlin. You have several broken ribs and you're concussed."

Now, the ribs he could believe; just breathing hurt. But concussed? Really? Then how had he managed to …? Merlin shook his head gingerly. Felt, all right, really. Then he heard Aithusa project. _For your own good – Gaius said it would keep the King off your back for a while._

Good old Gaius.

Getting stronger by the minute, Merlin began to worry about his dragon. _You shouldn't be here. You should be flying away at your fastest speed._

_I'm not leaving you_, came her prompt and firm reply, leaving no room for discussion.

Then Arthur came into sight, bigger than life, eyes all worried and mouth drawn. But not furious, Merlin estimated. Well, that was a start.

"I need you to recover, Merlin. When my lovable sister wakes up, I'm pretty sure we can't hold her without your help."

Merlin winced for effect, "that's true," he said hoarsely, "you can't."

The King nodded curtly and left Gaius' chambers, his expression unfathomable.

As soon as he had gone, Merlin tried to sit up only to be pushed down again by both Gaius and Aithusa in unison.

"I don't understand," he panted, his chest hurting like someone had driven an hot iron spike through his lungs, "why aren't we in the dungeons?"

"You needed medical care," Gaius answered grimly, "so the King solved the problem by submitting us all to house arrest We're basically grounded."

Merlin nodded, "what about the battle?"

"The knights are mopping up the remains as we speak. All the enchanted soldiers just collapsed with a blank expression when Morgana fell unconscious. God knows what will happen when she wakes up."

"They would find themselves in the dungeons, surely," Merlin huffed.

"If there is room enough," Gaius said wryly.

Aithusa had followed her dragonlord's winces, grimaces and laboured breathing since he woke up and could take it no longer. She stretched out a hand to rest feather light on his chest, projected a wave of ancient power and instantly healed his ribs.

"Oy!" Merlin exclaimed, being perfectly capable of breathing again.

"What?" she said as response to Gaius' stern look, "now that everything is revealed, we might as well use magic."

Gaius and Merlin looked at each other and shrugged as one. She had a point.

Now being able to sit without the feeling of someone impaling him (could be Arthur in his thoughts), Merlin stretched and reached for the water by his cot. While he downed the liquid thirstily, Aithusa summed up the reactions of the knights.

"Gwaine stands by you. He was about to clobber 'the princess', as he calls King Arthur, on the head when he had you put under house arrest Leon supports his King, Elyan is just confused and Percival focusses on the outcome of the war: namely, that you just about won the whole battle for them."

"Well, you helped," Merlin murmured through the water.

"Gwaine tried to see you earlier but was stopped by the guards outside. Had I not come to the door, he would have decked them right there and then," Gaius remarked with a lopsided grin. Merlin mirrored the same grin, though in a somewhat tired version. "Good old Gwaine."

"It would appear that he had guessed that I have magic, more or less," Aithusa smiled, "though me being a dragon had not been the first to come to his mind."

"Don't grow too fond of him," Merlin warned, squinting at her. She flashed him a genuine and affectionate smile like the one a teenage girl bestows on a particularly quaint father.

"Well," Gaius said, getting up, "no matter what the King is planning and regardless of how efficient Aithusa's healing was, you need to rest. We will talk more later."

Merlin shook his head. "I can't sleep – the deadline of 24 hours will soon be met."

"I have that covered," Aithusa said, pinning him with her extraordinary eyes, "it has been five hours which means there are 19 to go. Ample time for you to get some sleep."

And without leaving the warlock any chance of recounting, the two of them left his room, both of them projecting a silent command: SLEEP!

x

"Come in," Arthur said, his voice low and tired. The King was sitting by his desk in his chambers, reading one report after the other in the attempt to get an overview of the situation at hand. A guard entered and very correctly waited till he was asked of his business. The King almost sneered at him. _Correct? I don't want correct. I want an incorrect idiot that calls me a prat and is never on time. I want him to serve me food not worthy of a leech and I want someone who never knocks on the door and talks without being prompted. I WANT SOMEONE WHO THINKS FOR HIMSELF._

"What is it?" he finally asked, rubbing his nose ridge.

"Sire, the Court Physician wishes to speak to you – under four eyes."

Arthur sighed. "Very well. Bring him to me." the King could guess what Gaius wanted – to speak to Merlin's defence.

Two short minutes later, the guard had brought the prisoner from his house arrest to the King's chambers. Effectively and efficiently. God damn him!

Arthur beckoned the old man to approach and sit down, noticing the heavy and dark circles underneath his eyes. The long battle and the current situation with his ward were taking their toll on the old man too.

"What can I do for you, Gaius?" he said kindly.

Merlin's mentor cocked his head.

"I was wondering when you would ease up on the house arrest?"

Arthur blinked, eyes wide. Whatever the King had expected, this was not it. "You can't be serious, Gaius."

The old man sent him a sad and friendly smile.

"Sire, do you remember you came to me with an apology right after I had been brought back from my abduction last year?"

Arthur moved, uneasy. This was one memory he wasn't keen on being reminded of.

"Do you remember that I admitted to having withheld information from you?"

The King nodded.

"Do you also remember that I told you that there are people out there who work very hard on helping you, saving you and basically keeping you alive?"

Arthur nodded again, his expression serious.

"Well, the head poncho of that list of people more or less sacrificing themselves to help you unite Albion is … Merlin."

Arthur hardly blinked, his blue eyes wide with wonder. "I cannot believe that," he whispered. Despite of all he had seen during the day, he found it hard to grasp the physician's statement.

Gaius nodded. "I understand what you mean. Who would have thought that awkward and gangly young man to possess so much intelligence and wisdom, right?"

"You mean _magic power_," Arthur amended, his face contorted in momentary disgust by the very word.

But Gaius shook his head softly. "No, I mean intelligence and wisdom, Your Majesty." He leaned forward, urging. "Having power is one thing. Controlling it and knowing what to do with it is another. That is the intelligence and the wisdom. Not once has Merlin used sorcery for evil purposes. His motives have been fuelled by one aim and one aim only. To guard and help Arthur Pendragon. More than once, mighty and evil sorcerers have asked him to join them. Each and every time he has rejected them. That is integrity, Arthur. I helped your father instigate the Great Purge because I saw how great power corrupted one sorcerer after the other and it had to stop before we were all doomed."

Arthur nodded, the statement confirming his suspicions and his learnings.

"Yet, the years after that," Gaius continued, "I witnessed how the same purge made us all paranoid murderers. In essence, we became what we hunted."

Arthur moved restlessly, "Gaius, you're going too far..."

"No," he continued mercilessly, "I am not. I was there, remember? We were all guilty of killing innocents, women and children, in the name of righteousness, and it occurred to me that there is no black and white. Only a tyrant deals in absolutes."

Arthur was looking down, not daring to meet his old physician's eyes. "What are you saying, Gaius?"

"Let your decision be ruled by your instinct and your heart. Let not fear dictate or rule **you**."

Gaius rose from the chair and called the guard himself. Then he turned to deliver one last blow.

"And remember, Sire, who repeatedly tried to tell you that you could not trust your uncle. That should tell you whom you **can **trust."

And with those last words, Arthur's old faithful physician left the King's chambers.

Arthur sat stroking his knuckles almost an hour after that. One sentence kept popping up in his head. _Only a tyrant deals in absolutes._

x

Another hour later, his Royal Highness, King Arthur suddenly burst through Gaius' much battered door (and Gaius could have sworn that at least one of the hinges now finally gave way) and began without preamble: "Where is he? I want to talk to him."

With one hand, Gaius stopped Aithusa from saying something insolent and with the other, he pointed towards Merlin's room.

In two steps, Arthur stormed up the small staircase to Merlin's room and burst in, completely oblivious to the fact that he was disturbing a recovering patient.

The warlock woke with a start. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he murmured, bleary-eyed. Then he recognised the intruder.

"Could you **at least **let me rest before you drag me to the pyre?" he said, annoyed.

Arthur ignored his cheek. "You … are going to tell me why you never told me about your magic," he said hotly.

"Well," Merlin rasped, his voice still not quite itself, "your recent actions towards me should be a hint, I'd say."

"It was your _duty _to tell me," Arthur insisted.

"I actually did tell you … and your father … on two occasions, but neither of you believed me."

Arthur opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Merlin grabbed the chance to down some water and clear his throat while Arthur was busy picking up his jaw. Then the sorcerer fell back unto his pillow with a groan, still very much affected by his previous ordeal.

"Listen," he said, "if you ask Gaius for some hot tea for both of us, I'll tell you everything – from the second I arrived till … today. Deal?"

Arthur nodded, now having a bad conscience about bursting into a sickroom. On the bright side, he was now about to know the whole story. He had always sensed that there was something about his manservant.

Now. Finally. He was about to know the truth at last.

xxx

**Nearly done! Only the epilogue left. :-)**

**PLZ, PLZ, PLZ – let me know how I'm doing!**


	10. Epilogue: The Once and Future Dragon

**Disclaimers**: Not mine – ever (sulk). Belongs to the BBC, no infringements intended.

**A/N**: Cheers ever so much! Your reviews rock! Without your feedback, this story would probably never have come to an end. I have learned so much! I usually make action fics – I'm **so** not good at touchy-feely stuff. However …. you gotta do what you can't do, right? So I decided to try anyway. And you helped! Now, my fic life would be complete if I could find a beta-reader who would catch all my grammar mistakes.

One thing: Since this is not a reveal-fic as such (focus has been on Aithusa's development – the magic revelation just tagged along, somehow), I have chosen not to go over each and every reveal-explanation that Merlin is feeding Arthur. This might disappoint some of you. Sorry! However … I take this opportunity to invite you all to contribute reveal ficlets as an addition to this story: filling out the hole, so to speak. :) You'd be more than welcome. If you decide to do that, please just add 'Shapeshifter' to the title. It could be so cool!

In the meantime, I'll take a break until I come up with the alt 'Merthusa'-version that XAOTL Omega asked of me.

EPILOGUE

**The Once and Future Dragon**

It took King Arthur several days to digest the truth he had so coveted. One thing was the immense amount of stories that needed telling, the other was that he had to somehow reconstruct the way he looked at Merlin. This was, perhaps, the hardest thing of it all. Gone was the fumbling, clumsy serving boy, who had, admittedly, a certain talent for writing speeches and for giving up his life for his master willingly and without hesitation, present instead, now, was a person that Arthur had to get used to seeing as … omnipotent. Or close to. Yet, looking at the stories from a logical point of view, the King could merely shake his head in wonder … at his own stupidity. How-did-he-manage-to-miss-all-that? In hindsight, it had been so obvious. A dragon that no one could defeat? And he wounds it, it flees without killing him even though he lies unconscious? Of course, somebody else had been involved. His manservant leaping head first into a dorocha without dying on the spot? Gaius had warned him that no one had ever survived these creatures before. And all the convenient 'mishaps' that had saved their butts again and again. The fire at the slave trader, the falling rocks in the forest, saddle girths breaking at the most opportune moments, a troll suddenly and inexplicably losing control over her disguise, etc., etc. Arthur had to admit it: His own prejudice had left him unforgivably blind.

The question was – would he remain blind? Was it not time to acquiesce the fact that magic could be used for good? Merlin had certainly done nothing else the past many years.

What struck Arthur the most was the solitude Merlin had had to endure. And all this so that he may remain by his master's side and help him. He could easily have left and no one would have been the wiser. Yet, he had decided to stay, remaining in mortal danger from the laws of Camelot.

So naturally, the King pardoned his manservant. And not only did the said manservant see that Morgana was incarcerated in a magic-safe dungeon, he also 'defroze' Lord Agravaine and his assassins, who, all this time, had remained as immovable statues in the great hall, to help Arthur extract a full confession from his uncle. The same King, however, had a little more trouble recognising and acknowledging Aithusa, being thoroughly sceptical towards the kind of havoc a dragon could instil. It hadn't helped that she proudly admitted to have been Merlin's 'pet' who had bit him. Yet Arthur eventually pardoning her dragonlord won Aithusa's undying respect and he found that she was easier to deal with when she liked him.

Arthur also now knew of Merlin's alter ego, Emrys; however, Merlin had chosen not to tell him of Dragoon – yet. He knew of Balinor and thus, in retrospect, his manservant's taciturn behaviour on their trip to find the dragonlord and his subsequent tears now made exceedingly more sense.

What Merlin's future would be in Camelot had yet to be decided, but Arthur was in no hurry to reach a conclusion. For now, he was simply enjoying the fact that they were all alive, Morgana was in custody and Camelot was safe.

As for Merlin himself, he quickly recovered. Aithusa had helped him erect the incarceration spell round Morgana's cell that would also render her magic powerless and lift her enchantment on the many soldiers huddled up in the much too small dungeons. They woke up, befuddled and sore and were given several days to rest and recover before the King ordered them to return to their respective homelands.

These days were the happiest for Merlin as he thoroughly enjoyed working side by side with his dragon girl. They both felt that they belonged and were doing exactly what they were born for.

x

When it was time to say his good bye to Aithusa, Merlin found that he simply could not do it. The dragon girl had become such an integrated part of his life that he simply could not remember the time before she knocked on their door, clad in a man's trousers and a dirty shirt. Sensing his distress, she stroked his cheek with her hand, smiling and projecting to him: _Do not worry. We will stay in touch all the time. And I will come when you call me. You are, after all, a dragonlord._

Which was true, he knew. Yet, it still could not compare with being together with her all the time. Finally, she flung her long arms round his thin neck, hugging him tight and leaving a kiss for good luck on his mouth. The brief sensation of her sweet soft lips pressed against his didn't exactly help Merlin to say his last farewell. _How can I let this girl go?_ he thought.

Eventually it had to be done. King Arthur, his knights of the Round Table, Gwen, Gaius and Merlin all climbed the roof together with Aithusa. In the blazing sunshine, she took her original form and spread her wings after having wished them all the happiness in life. After lift-off, she turned deftly in the air, ever the air equilibrist, and projected at Merlin:

_Farewell, My Lord. We will meet again soon. For now, I have to return to Kilgharrah's cave where I may stay for a while. You see, there is one thing I have not told you …._

…_. I am pregnant._

The dragon keenly felt how her words sent a shock wave through their bond and hit the warlock smack centre in his heart that clenched with the news. And with a clear laughter like a bell tinkling, she sped up to the sound of Merlin's voice, loud and clear, yelling:

_**GWAINE!**_

_Poor Gwaine_, she thought as she swept over the tree tops; no, he was not the father. Instead, an egg containing a perfect little copy of Aithusa would be born in 11 months. Perhaps this one would choose to be a male. Time would show when the last dragonlord called it to this world.

A radiant smile crept over the dragon's facial features, exposing a long row of razor sharp feral teeth.

THE END

**A/N: Aithusa has conceived through parthenogenesis (that is, reproduction via self-cloning), which is not unseen in our modern world either. Komodo Dragons, some sharks, some snails are seen cloning themselves under certain circumstances.**


End file.
